Dead

Nine

So many stories of where I've been. And now I got to where I am. But these stories don't mean anything when you've got no one to tell them to.

The Story by Brandi Carlile

Over the next few days, Roxanne continued practicing with Megamind at the same spot on the beach. And still, no one at the camp had seen even one zombie.

It was almost as if they were simply taking a vacation in which no one dared disturb them. No one was complaining though. It was nice to have this down time.

It had been four days at their camp and Roxanne and Megamind sat on the beach. The strange part about this though wasn't just that they were spending all of this time together, but that Roxanne had only shot three bullets that day.

For hours, they simply talked.

...

That evening, the two had been back at camp for a couple of hours. Regina and the Warden were trying to start a fire.

Metroman was watching the fishing pole that was lodged in the sand, waiting for a bite when Megamind walked past on his way to the motor home. Metroman's head snapped up and he stood up immediately and nudged Bernard at the fishing pole so he could watch it. He grumbled quietly but obeyed.

"Hey, little buddy!" Metroman called to him.

Megamind turned and looked at him strangely. The two had hardly talked at all since Megamind had rescued him that day. "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you," Metroman said in a hushed tone.

Megamind stared at him and asked, "About?"

"Something important," Metroman answered.

"Which would be?"

"Something I would rather keep a secret!" Metroman answered, starting to get aggravated.

Megamind stared for a moment before asking, "A secret about?"

"Oh, would you just come on!" Metroman snapped quietly as he gripped his wrist and led him into the woods.

"What?" Megamind asked, brushing off the grip on his arm with aggravation.

"I still don't have my powers," Metroman told him.

Megamind gave him a strange look and said, "Okay? Well...have you tried again since-"

"I haven't tried for like four days," Metroman answered.

"What? Why?" Megamind asked, surprised by this statement seeing as he had been trying to get his powers back since being rescued.

"I don't...I just...I'm not..." Metroman sighed and then blurted out, "I-don't-want-my-powers-anymore."

Megamind's eyes widened, not expecting that at all. "You don't want-wait...what?"

Metroman sighed again and walked off a bit until his back was facing the blue man. There was a moment of silence before he began his reasoning.

"Since I lost my powers...I've felt more like a normal person than I ever have before. I mean, for as long as I can remember, I've had these super powers. And for as long as I can remember, people have expected me to be this...hero and this super fantastic man and I...I've never really thought about what I truly wanted to be."

Megamind stared at him, completely appalled by this new information. For as long as Megamind had known him, which was a long, long, long time, Metroman had always seemed rather cocky and extremely pleased with his powers and role as Metro City's hero.

Metroman continued, "I just don't want to feel as though I'm being depended on all the time. I'm done with the whole hero thing. I don't want anything to do with it anymore."

...

It was past midnight and everyone was in bed except for the Warden, who sat on the top of the motor home as watch. Roxanne lay awake listening to the night sounds from inside the vehicle. For some odd reason, she wasn't tired. She had already written in her journal once today, but since she couldn't sleep and had nothing else to do, she sat up and reached for her journal only to pause and stare out the window.

Roxanne put on her boots and stepped outside the motor home. She walked over to the sand where Megamind sat staring out at the dark ocean. The moonlight reflected on the wavy surface.

She sat down on the sand with him and he looked at her and asked, "What are you still doing up?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she said.

"Because," he answered simply and Roxanne rolled her eyes.

"That's a wonderful reason," she said.

He grinned at her and answered, "It is."

"You know, you should probably get more rest because-"

"Oh Roxanne, please don't turn into another Minion and Regina," he groaned.

"I'm not! I'm just saying..." she insisted.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Roxanne broke it. "So what were you and Metroman talking about earlier?"

Megamind looked at her, surprised by this question. "How did you-"

"I saw him drag you into the woods," Roxanne answered. "You two never talk so I had to notice during the one time you did. So, what were you two talking about?"

"Just...stuff," Megamind answered and Roxanne quirked an eyebrow at him and he caved rather easily. "Eh, he was just telling me how he doesn't want his powers back and such and such."

"What?" Roxanne asked, appalled by this.

"That's what I said!" Megamind agreed.

"But-but why?"

"He says he doesn't want to be the hero anymore," Megamind rolled his eyes and Roxanne's mouth fell open. "I know right? I don't know where the heck this came from but it couldn't have come at a worse time."

Roxanne thought over this new information. It didn't seem possible that Metroman would ever dislike his powers. But then again...she never thought zombies were possible either.

Roxanne sighed and looked back out at the ocean, "I guess I can kind of feel for him... sort of."

Megamind quirked an eyebrow curiously and asked, "How so?"

Roxanne smirked a bit and said, "While this is the closest Metroman's ever felt to being normal, I've begun to forget how it feels to actually be normal."

There was a moment before Megamind responded with a smirk, "I've never known what it feels like to be normal. So I suppose I can't miss it too much."

Roxanne looked at Megamind, who was staring out at the ocean. She thought for a moment and then got on her knees and faced him, "Want to go to our little beach?"

Megamind blinked and looked at her, surprised by this random invite.

The Warden watched the two run off into the night through the woods, giggling like teenagers sneaking out past curfew. He quirked an eyebrow up at them and grunted in curiosity and suspicion.

...

Thanks to my reviewers of chapter 8!

Pannanarae18

Pumpkin Kuro

Talani Silverwolf01

P.F. Zombies