Disclaimer: Here is the scene where Susan is introduced to the band of monsters. Again, I will say that I don't own the characters of the Monsters vs. Aliens movie as much as I would like to, that pleasure belongs to the DreamWorks Animation Company; but I do own the character Maggie / Mrs. C. Now, on with the rest of our story.
It has now been fifty years since we were brought here to the facility. A lot has happened since our almost escape forty-four years ago. Since then, we have had something good and something bad happen to us. The good thing that has happened to us is, we have had one new monster called Insectosaurus join us. He is a three hundred and fifty foot tall insect monster, which was transformed by radiation from atomic bombs at a test site, when he was a small grub. They picked him up from Tokyo, Japan after he had already eaten about half the city. Link took an instant shine to him, and for some unknown reason, he can communicate with him. I don't know why it is that only Link can understand what Insecto is saying, but I am happy for him nevertheless, and Insecto has become a friend and sort of a pet to the rest of us. I think it's somewhat cute how the only way he will get back in his cell, is when one of the soldiers shines a light in his face, and then he just stares at it and follows them inside. He joined our group about twenty-five years ago. At the same time and about a week after Insecto came here, tragedy struck us hard. I vividly remember what happened twenty-five years ago….
I went to Invisible Man's room to check on him, because, he wasn't at breakfast that morning. For some reason the light to his cell was out, as I walked into his cell to try to find the light switch, I tripped on something.
"Invisible Man, what are you doing on the floor with the lights out," I asked him in annoyance, as I picked myself off the floor, "I tripped on you and could have hurt myself, get up off the floor!"
I continued my search for the light and finally found it. When I turned the lights on, I turned around and saw him, clearly visible and naked on the floor. I bent down to help him up and found he was cold and stiff. I realized that he must be dead, screamed my head off, and ran back to my cell in a panic to call General Monger, who got that promotion he wanted, my husband and Link. I speed past them and yelled into the little box on a P.A. system, "Monger come quick! It's Invisible Man, I think he's dead, he's not moving or anything and I can see him." My husband came over to comfort me and to get me to calm down.
"Ok, Mrs. Cockroach just calm down and take it easy," Monger told me, "I will be down in one minute with a team to check on him ok?"
"Ok just please hurry," I cried and then turned to my husband and buried my face into his chest, "Oh Antony, what could have happened to him?"
"I don't know love," he said to me while rubbing my back, "But Monger will be here soon and we will know exactly what happened. Hush now, my dear, it will be all right, shh. Why don't you just lie down and rest for a bit? I will ask Monger if he can make you some hot tea and some candy wrappers to soothe your nerves."
"Ok, that sounds wonderful," I said to him as he wiped the tears from my face. He led me to our bed, pulled the covers over me, and kissed me before leaving the room with Link. After an hour had passed, Monger came into the cell to check on me with my husband, who brought me the items he promised, a hot cup of herbal tea for sleep and a bowl of candy wrappers for comfort, and to tell me how Invisible Man was doing.
"Mrs. Cockroach, I am sorry to tell you that you were right. He is dead," Monger regrettably told me, "The coroner determined that the case of death appeared to have been a heart attack and that he had been dead, for at least two hours, before you found him."
After he left, we saw the team carry out Invisible Man's body out to give him a proper burial. I know I was never really close to the guy, but I still felt bad that he died and that I happened to have been the one who found his body.
"I can't believe he's dead," Link said in disbelief, "I mean, he never said anything to me or B.O.B. him being sick."
That's when it dawned on me. "What do we tell B.O.B.," I asked while wiping the tears from my face, "He's like a child remember? How do you tell a child that his best friend just died? This is going to break his heart when he finds out, even though he doesn't physically have one."
"Maybe it is best that we don't tell him," my husband sadly said to us, "Not the whole truth mind you. We could tell him that he escaped when they brought in Insectosaurus last week. He could have easily slipped past the guards while they were loading him."
"Yeah I'm with you," Link said while rubbing the back of his neck, "We will just tell him that and pray he never asks about him again."
I just nodded my head because I was too upset to say anything. We went to B.O.B's cell to give him the news about Invisible Man and he took it rather well. I know he would miss him, but I couldn't stand it if he knew the real truth about what really happened to him. I just hope that we will never have to mention this incident again in the future.
(Present Day)
Today we were going to head for the recreation and dining area, when I saw her. Well, more specifically, her legs and feet because she looked about fifty feet tall, with gorgeous platinum blonde hair and piercing blue eyes which were full of fear. The others were visiting my husband and me in our cell, before it was time for lunch and were now heading for the door. "Guys, wait stop," I whispered harshly to them, "Look, there's someone new in the dining area."
"Is it legs," B.O.B. asked us, "Did they just capture a giant pair of legs?"
"B.O.B. be quiet. She'll hear us," my husband scolded him.
"Why, legs don't have ears," B.O.B. asked him in confusion.
"Just shush," I told him.
"Excuse me," She asked us, while bending down to see us through the door, in a scared voice, "Could you please tell me where I am?"
We all hid from her view because it was obvious in her voice that she scared out of her wits right now. In addition, we really didn't know how she would take to seeing a bunch of strange creatures. Then, we watched as she turned around and saw them giving her some sort of mashed potatoes or something like that, through one of our eating tubes onto a plate, which was set on a giant table for her, and a giant spoon.
"Maybe you should go greet her, honey," I suggested to my husband, "I will be right behind you."
"Ok, I will be as polite as possible. We don't need to scare her any more than she already is," he said to me as we both scurried out the door, and behind her, to one of the legs of the table.
"Hello," she asked, as she turned around to face where we just were, in fear, "What was that?"
We both climbed up the leg to the top of the table rapidly, and scurried to hide behind her food. From the smell of the goop, I would say that my theory, of it being some creamy mashed potatoes, was correct. I lightly pushed my husband to greet her, when we came out; she turned around and saw us with a terrified look on her face. As soon as my husband said hello to the girl, she cried out, "Eww" and started trying to swat both of us with her spoon.
"Would you stop…? Careful," my husband told her as he dodged and then he grabbed the spoon, "Please, Madame. Stop... Doing... That!"
She, kind-of, crushed him on the table as he said that to her and I had flown out-of-the-way to avoid being hit as well. Luckily, it didn't take him long to recover, however, he was still dizzy from almost being crushed.
"Whatever mad scientist made you," he said while spinning around in a daze, "He really went all out." Then he fell flat on his face.
As I helped him up, I felt compiled to say something to this girl about her rudeness. All we tried to do to her was be friendly, and she goes and tries to squash us like bugs. I know that we look somewhat like bugs to her, but, that is no reason to try to kill us.
"Young Lady! That was completely uncalled for," I sternly said to her, after I had helped my husband to balance himself, "All we tried to do was be friendly to you and you try to kill us."
She dropped her spoon and said to us with a shocked look on her face, "You can talk," then she slipped and fell hard on the floor. I guessed that she probably stepped on B.O.B. and I was right. He was stuck on the bottom of her shoe. As she pried him off, he said hi to her and she flung him off her hand toward the table. He hit her food and split in half.
"Oh my back," he yelled, "Just kidding. I don't have a back."
As he giggled at his joke, my husband said to the new girl, "Forgive him, but as you can see, he has no brain."
"Turns out you don't need on. Totality overrated, I mean I don't even … Oh my! Oh! I forgot how to breathe! Don't know how to breathe," he said as he appeared to be choking and started shaking my husband, "Help me Doctor Cockroach, help, help!"
"Suck in B.O.B," he calmly instructed B.O.B.
When he did, he said, "Oh, thank you Doc. You're a lifesaver."
Then Link appeared and tried to be cute with the girl, by showing up, upside down on her face. "Wow, look at you," he said as he twitched her nose, "I know what you're thinking. First day in prison, and you want to take on the toughest guy in the yard. Well I'd like to see you try sweetheart."
Then he tumbled down her the girl's leg to the ground and started doing a series of Kung-Fu moves to impress her. He is kind-of out of shape and I knew he couldn't keep that up for very long. Just as I predicted, when he tried to do a handstand, his back gave out and he landed in a heap on the floor. I sighed and shook my head before fluttering down to help him up.
"Oh gosh, that hurt," he said as I popped his back into place, "Look she's speechless."
"She," B.O.B. asked him in confusion.
"Yes B.O.B," my husband said rather excitedly to him, "This new monster, like my wife, is one of the rare female monsters in existence."
"No way it's a boy," B.O.B. said to him, then he pointed at Link's chest and mine and said, "See, they're the same."
"We need to have a talk," Link said to him, while putting a hand on his shoulder. I covered myself up after hearing that, feeling a bit self conscience at that moment. I looked over to the new girl and saw her face hadn't change. She still had that shocked look on her face when she saw that my husband and I could talk.
"Uh, guys look," I said to them as I pointed to her.
"Gentlemen, I'm afraid we aren't making a very good first impression," my husband pointed out while chuckling awkwardly.
"At least I'm talking," Link told him, "First new monster in years, we couldn't get like a wolf man or a mummy? Just, you know somebody to play cards with."
"Hey, I play with you all the time," I said to him in annoyance, "You just like to cheat about half the time and you usually always beat B.O.B. with Insecto's help."
My husband sighed and cleared his throat to break up our fight. I turned around and saw the new girl was staring at us with her knees pulled up to her chest. "Oh, I am so sorry. Where are my manners? We didn't mean to ignore you," I said to her to try to get her to relax around us.
"Might we ask your name Madame," my husband asked her.
"Susan," she timidly answered.
"No, no, no, we mean your monster name sweetie, "I explained to her, then I flew up to her face to speak eye-to-eye with her, "For example, my name is Mrs. Cockroach or Mrs. C."
"Yeah, like what do people scream when they see you coming," B.O.B. asked her with curiosity, "You know like, 'Look out here comes…"
"Susan"
"Really," my husband asked her in disbelief. Then he pulled out his monster profile book and added her to his list. B.O.B. tried saying her name in a spooky voice and said, "Wow, I just scared myself. Susan is a scary name."
"Right, like B.O.B is a scary name too," I sarcastically said to him while shaking my head.
"I know, right," he said back to me and then he turned to Susan, "Cool! We're the same!"
"No we're not. I can't believe this is happening to me. I must be dreaming," she said to him with fear in her voice as she started crawling backwards away from us.
I was about to say something to her, when the meal buzzer started going off. We all hurried to our table to receive our food. Link got raw fish, which he started rudely bitting the heads off and slurping up the rest. B.O.B tried to take one, but he got his hand slapped by Link's tail.
"That is repulsive," my husband said to me as we both cringed at Link's lack of table manners.
"I agree. Link, for goodness sake, please don't make those noises when you eat. It's gross," I complained to him, as Doctor Cockroach's and my garbage dropped from the tube, onto our plate.
"Oh yeah," he sarcastically said to me, "Like eating that stuff isn't gross too. At least my food is fresh and hasn't been sitting for who knows how long, before they serve it to me."
"Oh just hush up and eat," my husband snapped at him, "Ooh an old slipper. Don't mind if I do, unless the lady would like to have it first."
"No thank you honey. You go ahead and enjoy yourself," I smiled, patted his face and said to him, "Besides; I see an empty egg carton with my name on it."
As I reached out for it, I noticed B.O.B. trying to take an empty water bottle from the pile. I slapped his hand and sternly said to him, "B.O.B. how many times must I tell you? Keep your hands off and just wait. You'll get your own food, so there's no need to take anything from our pile."
"I'm sorry Mrs. C," he sadly said to me while rubbing his hand, "I'm just hungry." He didn't need to wait long because an entire ham dropped into him from his feeding tube. He looked happy now as the ham started to dissolve rapidly into his body.
I turned my attention back to the egg carton I was eyeing earlier and picked it up. As I took a bite out of it, as if it was a sandwich, I discovered that it wasn't empty after all. It still had some eggs inside it crushed, which was a delightful surprise for me. I looked up from my meal and saw that Susan was still staring at us and hadn't moved at all.
"Ok, two things. One, it's rude to just stare at people, especially when they 're eating," I said to her holding up one finger, then another as I continued, "Two, you might want to eat your food before B.O.B. sees it and eats it himself."
"Ok now I know I'm dreaming," She said while getting up from the floor and started backing up, "Or maybe I had a nervous breakdown at the wedding, and now I am in a mental hospital on medication that's giving me hallucinations."
When I heard the word "wedding" escape her mouth, I stood up quickly from my chair, and flew to her. "Did you just say wedding," I asked her in concern, "Is that where they captured you?" I think my flying at her face freaked her out a little more, because she backed right into Insectosaurus. If she wasn't terrified before, she certainly was now because when she looked up at him, she screamed Bloody Murder and ran away from him. Insecto roared back at her in surprise and came over to his bowl full of sugar-water with the rest of us.
"Don't scare Insectosaurus." Link told her, "He's going to wet himself, then we'll all be in trouble. It's okay buddy, she's new. Don't worry about it, it will just take a little time for her to get used to you big guy."
Insecto snorted and started shaking his leg to the ground, like a dog, as Link scratched his belly. I turned from them and saw Susan running along the walls in a panic. I flew over to her to get her to calm down.
"Susan, Susan relax, it's just Insecto, he's harmless I promise," I said to her as I landed on her shoulder. That was a mistake because she shrieked, brushed me off and started yelling, "Please someone! Anyone! I don't belong here! Let me out!"
"What are you doing," I asked her, as she appeared to be searching the walls for something.
"Every room has a door," she shouted in a panic, "There's got to be a door here. Where's the door?!"
"Susan, please calm down," I tried again to calm her, this time I flew near her, "You really shouldn't be doing that or …"
I didn't get a chance to tell her to stop beating against the door screaming" LET ME OUT!", because it lifted up to reveal two bright red lights glowing at us. The lights were from General Monger's new jet pack he recently got. He glared at the others and me before saying, "Monsters get back in your cells."
I sighed in defeat, gave Susan a sympathetic smile and padded her shoulder, before flying off to join my husband in our cell. I hadn't gone very far, when I heard Monger sternly remind me, "Mrs. Cockroach, I am sure you are well aware that you are still under flight restriction, due to your fight with the Missing Link two and half months ago, until lunch time tomorrow."
Two and a half months ago, Link and I got into a fist fight because I told him to stop calling my husband a "quack". He told me that I always stood up for him and that I was just his puppet. He also said, the only reason he married me in the first place, was to have a "yes man", who happened to be a woman. I saw red after that, I flew fast at him and punched him in the face. When he tumbled over onto his stomach, I jumped on him, put my knees on his back and started pulling on his arms behind him. While I was pulling his arms, I yelled, "Take that back or, so help me, you are not going to have any arms to do any more weight exercises!" Monger came in with three guys to pull me off him. When they got me off, he said, "Ok, Maggie, Jeez I'm sorry. I take it back, just calm down please. I didn't mean it, honest."
I calmed down a bit after he said that and the guys slowly released their grip on me. I think that Link realized that I was a force to be reckoned with if anyone insults my husband or me like that. He never should have said that to me and treated me in such a disrespectful manner and he had better not do that ever again.
"I hope you mean that Link. It really hurt when you said that to me. I'm sorry for attacking you," I told him, "It was uncalled for and I shouldn't have done that. I will try to conduct myself in a more civilized manner in the future."
"Well I have to say one thing about you Maggie, you sure can pack a punch," Link said to me while rubbing his jaw, "I didn't expect little you to actually have some power behind that hit. Remind me not to get on your bad side."
"Ok and I will try to control my temper in the future," I said to him and smiled.
"Mrs. Cockroach, we have rules about fighting here," General Monger told me, "I understand that sometimes tempers rise; however, when it gets to the point, like with you two, then we have to step in. I'm sorry to inform you, but you are restricted from flying for two and half month until lunch time and you, Link, are confided to your cell for one month. We will redirect your food to your cell during that time. I'm sorry, but I feel at this time, it is best to keep you two separated for a while."
"I figured as much," I sighed and said to Link, "Sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble Link."
"Well, since I was the one who started the fight in the first place," Link said with a sigh, "I deserved it and I'm sorry I got you literally grounded for two and a half months. I know how much you love flying, about as much as you love climbing on the walls and ceiling."
"It's ok Link, I shouldn't have snapped like that, just don't say things like that to me anymore."
"Oh come on Monger, have a heart," I complained to him, "This is the only way I can have a face-to-face conversation with the girl." He wasn't having it, he pointed to me and then to the ground, I scowled at him, crossed my arms across my chest, and landed with a huff. "Well, I'll see you around Susan," I told her as I scurried off to my cell. The door slammed shut as soon as I was inside and I went over to our bed to read a book. I was reading Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth, while my husband was working on a bomb made of Legos and other such parts found in our meal. I marked my place and closed the book to ask him a question.
"Sweetheart, how long do you think it is going to them to figure out what it is you are making in here," I asked him, knowing that soon he was going to have his "toy box" privileges, as they like to call them, taken away again.
"I've manage to elude them so far, my dear," he said to me, with a somewhat sinister gleam in his eye, "Besides they will hear it, long before they have a chance to discover it. I just need a bit of uranium to complete it."
That's when we noticed Susan and Monger passing by the observation glass of our cell. Monger had those installed immediately after the almost escape, to make sure we wouldn't try anything sneaky like that again. I smiled and waved at Susan and my husband greeted her as well through the call box. "Hello Susan. Delightful to see you again," he said with a charming smile, "Oh, you wouldn't happen to have any uranium on you, would you? I just need a smidge."
"Rescind Doctor Cockroach's toy box privileges immediately," Monger said into the radio on his coat sleeve. I figured that Monger had already given Susan her orientation of the facility and was escorting her back to her cell. I will have to check on her first thing tomorrow to see how she's faring. Judging by her reaction of us earlier, she must be terrified by now. I think she has no idea that she is now a monster, same as the rest of us. I also think that the poor girl is really convinced this whole thing is just a big nightmare, which is going to go away as soon as she goes to sleep tonight. Susan, I wish it were so. I saw the soldiers come into our cell to take my husband's bomb away; I also saw that he was being stubborn and was guarding it from the soldiers. I sighed and went over to him to try to persuade him to give it up willingly; otherwise, they would just knock him out and take the thing anyway.
"Honey, come on," I told him, while trying to pull him out-of-the-way, "They're going to take it anyway, besides, I know of another thing you can do other than working on this."
That seemed to have piqued his interest. "If you move," I sneakily whispered to him, "Then I will tell you or you can stay stubborn and you wouldn't get one word out of me, after you regain consciousness, for a long time and you know I can do that."
"I wonder what she could possibly have to tell me. Is it worth the risk of losing our one chance to leaving this awful place? Maybe it would be wise if I do as she says, besides she's gotten me too curious about her proposal to worry about a dud bomb," Dr. Cockroach thought to himself.
"All right, Maggie, all right," he said to me, and then he turned to the soldiers and said, "It's not active, so you don't have to worry about getting blown to pieces if you drop it." Then, he did his mad scientist laugh and the soldiers hastily ran out the door. It always seems to make me laugh, when they got freaked out by his maniacal laughter, but I wasn't going to let him know that, otherwise he would never stop.
"All right my dear," he asked me, with curiosity clearly on his face, "Tell me, what did you have in mind that I could be working on, instead of finding us a way to get out of here?"
I smiled, wrapped my arms around his neck and said, "I think we should help Susan get back to a normal height."
"What," he asked in disbelief, "That's what you want me to be working on instead of finding us a way out?! I am sorry Maggie, but that is out of the question. I am too busy to be worrying about her with my own things at the moment."
"Sweetheart, she is convinced that she truly doesn't belong here. We need to help her and you are the only one here that can make that possible. Please, I would never ask you to abandon a project, unless it was for a good reason," I pleaded him, then I decided to change tactics, "Besides aren't you curious about what it is that made her grow in the first place?"
"I will admit that I am fascinated by whatever it was that made her the way she is. I am also curious to know how this differs from the substance that made Insectosaurus grow taller than her. But, why are you so interested in her?"
"I feel bad for her, Antony," I said, as I used his real name to let him know I was dead serious about this, "Remember how you felt when they took you away from me and kept us apart? I am sure I heard her say the word wedding. A girl that young and pretty has got to have a fiancée or even a boyfriend, who is probably going nuts because he wouldn't be able to see her again."
I put my head down and sighed. He also let out a sigh and put a knuckle under my chin to pull my face up to look in his eyes. He smiled and nodded his head. He didn't need words to tell me that he was going to help her; the look on his face said it all. I had tears of happiness in my eyes and kissed him. "Thank you Antony. You don't know how happy you've made me. I am going to talk to her tomorrow about you finding a way to shrink her down to a normal height."
"Love do you think that is wise," he asked me cautiously, "Remember what she did to me not half an hour ago? She could really hurt you and I don't want to wake up one of these days and find that I am a widower."
"I am surprise to see that you have forgotten, remember that I am part cockroach too dear. She didn't kill either one of us earlier today and she wouldn't do that tomorrow. Besides, I have to try and she looks like she could use a little girl help. I'll be fine honey. I love you Dr. Antony Tyson."
"And I love you, Maggie Tyson," he said as he pulled me in for a kiss, "Now, I think it would be wise of us to get some sleep, since tomorrow is going to be a very trying day, don't you?"
"Yes I agree. Although, I want to read for a little while longer, but you can go ahead and sleep if you want. I'll see you in the morning."
He and I both changed into our pajamas before settling into bed. He gave me a kiss and laid his head on his pillow to sleep. After about half an hour, I heard him lightly snoring as I was reading. After an hour had passed, I marked my place in my book before closing it, shut off the light, and laid my head to my pillow. As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't help thinking to myself about Susan and what tomorrow will hold for us.
"Try to sleep well Susan. I know it won't be easy and that you're probably scared and crying your eyes out, but Tony and I will try our best to get you out of here and back to your man. In the meantime, I hope you will count me as your friend, because I have already count you as one of mine."
TBC
