Disclaimer: Megamind's not mine ;A;
I'm aliiiiive! Sorry about that. Moved twice, have pretty much every friend demanding I go stay with them for a week while I'm back, toyed around with a bunch of ideas for the story but didn't really like where any of them led, until this one popped while I was driving the other day! I can't promise to keep to any schedule, my will to write fluctuates pretty randomly, but I do promise this story will be finished, no matter how long it takes! Enough talking though, here's the next chapter~ please let me know what you thing ^-^
"Sir! How many times have I told you?!"
Both the alien and the Brainbots he was currently playing with froze as Minion barreled into the large workspace from the hallway, a disapproving frown causing his face to scrunch up in a rather intimidating way. "Just look at them, Sir! They won't even bat an eye if Miss Ritchi actually does find her way into the Evil Lair if you keep using her image!"
A dramatic sigh was his response as the Roxanne-look-alike rolled her vibrant green eyes, a small smirk playing on her lips as her arms settled across her chest. "Oh, Minion—"
"And just where did you get her voice print from?!"
"From her news broadcasts, obviously. Her voice is literally on every night, it wasn't that hard to extract it from the tapes and—"
"Sir, no! It was bad enough with you walking around looking like her for the past couple days, but using her voice as well? The Brainbots—"
"Stop cutting me off! And stop being such a guppy, Minion."
"No, you need to stop and use your head, Sir! I won't let this continue on any longer! If I catch you using her image in Evil Lair one more time, I'll… I'll…"
"You'll what? Chastise me?" He threw his currently dainty hands up to his cheeks and faked a gasp. "No, Minion! Anything but that!"
"I'LL THROW YOU IN YOUR ROOM AND BARRICADE THE DOOR!"
The sudden shout from his usually timid companion left him momentarily speechless as the two just stared at each other, and then with a sudden flash and static buzz Megamind was back to his regular blue self and smiling widely as he practically bounced forward to throw his arms around the fuzzy mechanical body of a very confused fish.
"Listen to you, threatening me! You do have a bit of an evil streak in you! I'm so proud, Minion!"
"It's… I… what?"
"Even though it's kind of an empty threat, we both know I'd be out of there in mere milliseconds."
"Sir?"
"By the way, how's the weather outside?"
"It's… uh… drizzling a b—"
"Perfect! You stay here and… do whatever it is you went out to gather things for. I'll be back before midnight!"
He received a friendly punch to the shoulder pad as the man drew away, and then suddenly his charge was bolting down the hallway towards the door, wicked laugher bouncing off the walls behind him.
"Uhh…" he turned his body to stare at the group of Brainbots that were still hovering in the middle of the floor. "I don't understand what just happened."
A chorus of bowgs was his response.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Roxanne yawned as she ran her hands through her hair, thankful it was the weekend as she waited for the elevator to drop her off at the lobby of their news building. She rubbed at one watering eye as the doors slid open with a soft ping, and gave the receptionist a friendly smile and wave before she pushed through the exit and out into the busy street.
Well, normally busy. She glared slightly at the rippling puddles that were forming in the street as the rain fell, a few unlucky stragglers who got caught in the random storm staring out of nearby shops with similar expressions. She contemplated heading back in and calling a cab when the door opened again behind her and a familiar voice called out.
"Hey! Rox-a-roo! Man, this rain came out of nowhere, huh?"
"Hey, Hal," she responded, not even bothering to turn to look at her cameraman as he brought himself to stand uncomfortably close to her side.
"What are you doing just standin around? Do you need a ride, because I can, like, totally drop you off at your building."
She thought about the offer, was even leaning towards accepting it since it was a rather common occurrence, but after a few seconds of silence the awkward redhead continued rambling.
"I noticed you seemed a bit tired today. Is everything alright? I could, like, totally come over and take care of you if you're getting sick. Can't have our best and most beautiful taking time off."
'On second thought, I don't really feel like dealing with him right now.'
"Oh, did I say beautiful? I didn't mean to say that. Not that you aren't! You're totally gorgeous, Roxy! Anyone would think s—"
"Thanks for the offer, Hal," she interrupted. "I'm fine though. You go on home, and have a good weekend."
The freckled man frowned for a second at the rejection, but was soon smiling once again as he set off backwards down the sidewalk towards his van. "Alright, but, like, if you need me for anything, and I mean anything this weekend, just ca— Woah!" He stumbled a bit over his feet, but somehow managed to catch and right himself, flashing a toothy grin as he pointed at her with both hands. "Total ninja reflexes, yeah? Anyways, just call, you have my number!" And then whirled around and ran the last few yards from beneath the awning to the safety of his vehicle. She forced a smile as he waved before driving off down the road.
She stood there, weighing her choices of wasting money on such a short ride or waiting for the rain to pass, when another yawn forced its way from her. "If these nightmares continue I actually might have to ask for some time off next week," she grumbles, wiping at her eyes again. "Maybe I should just walk home, if I get sick I might be able to actually get some sleep."
"Oh, no, you can't walk around in this weather, Roxanne, you'd be soaked after three blocks," a worried voice came from behind her, and she turned to see the receptionist looking out at the rain, her brow wrinkled a bit as she thought something over. "I could give you a lift, but I have to run a couple errands first. I don't think I could get you home and then back to the stores before they closed."
A smile spread across her lips as she nodded, "That would be great, Lacy, I'm in no hurry. Thank you."
"No problem at all!"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
"Just one more stop!" The chipper blond explained as she slid back into the driver's seat, maneuvering her bags between the seats so she could place them in the back with the others. Roxanne nodded in response, and they chatted a bit before Roxanne suddenly realized the small businesses were giving way to larger buildings that sometimes spanned the entire block.
"The warehouse district?" She asked, turning to look at her coworker for an explanation.
"My Husband ordered some heavy part for his old car. Some project he's been working on since before we even met. Apparently it's the last piece he needs, but it had to be shipped over from overseas. Luck would have it that the sender sent it by ship rather than plane," Lacy explained, pausing at a stop sign to double check the address she was looking for. "He got an email this morning saying it arrived, but he had to work overtime, and he's too impatient to wait until Monday to get it, so I said I'd go grab it for him. Aha! Here we are!"
She pulled the large family van into a gravel lot before turning off the engine. "It might take a bit, I don't know exactly how large or heavy this thing is, but… Roxanne?" She questioned, noticing the reporter didn't even appear to be listening to her as she stared raptly out her window at something. "Roxanne?"
"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, I was just a bit distracted. You know what, Lacy, I actually have some business here too, so I think I'm just going to hop off here and go take care of it. It's alright if you leave before I'm done, I don't mind calling a cab from here."
She didn't give the other woman much time to respond before she was opening her door and darting out into the downpour and across the street.
Straight towards the old warehouse she'd been held hostage in just days before.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
The rope was still there.
A shiver unrelated to the chill wracked her spine as she stared up at the short braid that swung gently from the crane. She'd never pieced together just what had happened, but looking at the sheared, fraying end now, and seeing the pieces of shrapnel littered around the edges of the building, it was rather clear just what had made her take the plunge.
'It was just one big accident,' she thought, rubbing her arms when a few stray drops of rain managed to reach her from where she stood just inside the large bay doors. She wasn't quite sure how long she stood there, letting her mind wonder, but a familiar bowg brought her back to her senses, and she found herself whirling around to stare wide-eyed at a very curious Brainbot floating a few feet behind her.
"Oh! Umm, hey there, little guy. Uhh," she glanced down at the dustpan full of shrapnel and foxtail brush clasped in its mechanical hands before looking back up at the eyestalk that was getting alarmingly closer. "Clean up duty?"
It bowged in response, its bear-trap mouth snapping at the air once before it slowly lowered itself to gently place its cargo on the floor. She watched it fuss over the small bits that had managed to slip off the edge of the pan before it turned back to her to slowly float closer.
Unsure of just what the little invention would do without its creator around, she slowly backed away, her hands raised up her just below her chin in case the thing lunged. "Hey now, you shouldn't be here all alone, right?" It paused its advance, and she watched as its entire body tilted to one side, somehow perfectly conveying confusion as it bowged?
'Can this thing actually understand me?'
"Uhh, yeah, you travel around in packs, right? That means you shouldn't be here all alone. So go back home and get a few more of your… friends to come help you clean."
Its eyestalk tilted the opposite direction of its body.
"You heard me, go home. Home. Go back to the… the Lair and— HEY!" She exclaimed in surprise, trying to yank her arm back out of its little claws when it suddenly darted forward and grabbed her wrist before pulling her towards one of the exits, oblivious to her struggles. "Hey, where are you taking me? Let me go!" Her only response was the ever familiar bowg as it tugged her out into the rain and down the street.
It led her down two blocks, her hair and clothes thoroughly soaked by then, before turning down into a narrow alleyway and… straight through a wall?! She gasped when she was pulled through after it, and froze when the thing suddenly released her wrist and zoomed off down the long hallway before her, barking excitedly.
'Did it… bring me to the Lair?' she glanced around, cautiously taking a few steps forward, before a sudden swarm of the crafty little cyborgs had her backing up towards the exit before the little claws grabbed at her arms and legs and whisked her right off her feet and down the passage, completely ignoring her surprised shout.
It was a relatively fast— and harrowing— flight, but soon she found herself being deposited on her feet once again in the center of an open room, obviously the main warehouse floor. Her reporter instincts were demanding she take it all in, but she found she couldn't really take her eyes off what she considered her main problem.
The Brainbots had deposited her right in from of a rather wide-eyed sidekick.
"Umm… hello," she ventured, smiling sheepishly before she suddenly backpedaled at the look of pure frustration that suddenly appeared on the aquatic creatures face.
"I warned you!" Minion huffed angrily, his large hands grabbing her by the waist before he easily threw her up over one shoulder and started stomping off in the opposite direction from where she had come.
"Hey! What are you—"
"I warned you, Sir!"
"I— Wait, Sir?"
She tried to push herself up to get a look at where they were going, but the quick, jarring steps of the robotic body kept her from getting a good hold on his suit.
"Didn't think I'd go so far to out the Brainbots all on alert, did you? But I was serious, Sir, and you have got to learn your lesson! Now!"
The steps slowed, and she finally got enough leverage to glance back at the hall they had come down before she was pick up and set back down on the floor, and literally shoved through a doorway.
"You stay in there and you think about what I've told you, and if I catch you running around before you learned your lesson there will be… there will be DIRE CONSEQUENCES!"
"Wait!" She whirled around just in time to watch him slam the door shut. She ran forward to try the nob, but it refused to budge, and the suddenly loud, screeching sound of something heavy being drug nearby forced her to resort to pounding on the rusted metal. "Hey! Minion! I'm sorry! It wasn't my fault! I didn't know it would bring me here! Minion? MINION?"
When the only thing she heard in reply was the sharp clamps of the fish walking back down the hall she sighed heavily and turned back to look at her temporary prison. "At least there's a bed," she grouses, wearily eyeing the thin, shabby mattress that looks like it belonged more in a prison cell than here. There were a few ratty looking blankets folded neatly on one end, and she lifted a brow when she noticed a pair of red-eyed bat slippers sat atop something that looked suspiciously like Pajamas… with a large collar…
Her eyes swiveled to look elsewhere.
A cape on the wall.
'Oh…'
An opened closet with a few black bodysuits hanging from thin wires.
'Oh my…'
A metal shelf, decorated in beautiful filigree, with an equally beautiful frame holding a painting.
'Oh no…'
A painting of two blue, large headed people, an arm around each other as the woman reached a hand out towards to the frame and…
'Megamind's room?!'