Here we go again, another installment!
Sorry for the long delay, shuttling two kids back and forth from games and practices sure sucks away my free time that could be spent in writing. But hopefully the fact that I have TWO chapters for you as a peace offering will convince you to forgive me!
Chapter 11 will be uploaded in a couple of days; it's ready to go, I just have a little bit of tweaking to do.
Hope you enjoy!
Despite spending the rest of the evening with Roxanne, both of them finding reassurance and comfort in one another's company and affection, Megamind had difficulty finding sleep that night. Although he intermittently drifted in and out of fitful rest, his thoughts continued to obstinately wander their way back to the ever increasing mess that was being laid out for him by the new villain in town.
The more he thought about the possible consequences of having waited for so long to fully disclose everything he knew about the brand new bad guy, the more he wanted to jump right up and rush over to the station to spill every last detail of what he saw the night it all started. As he lay restlessly in bed he visualized everything that could possibly go wrong, from falling out of the good graces of the police and a lack of being able to work with them in a smooth and cooperative manner, to the cops flat out believing every bit of the accusations that were being flung at him, accepting without question that he had slipped back into his old, diabolical ways.
He was pulled from his thoughts for a moment when Roxanne stretched and rolled over, scooting close and snuggling into him as he lay on his side. A smile stole it's way across his lips when he looked at her tucked so neatly in next to him, and he slid his arm around her, gently running his hand up her back to her shoulders, then pulling her closer to hold her. When she had found her comfortable niche next to him, she drew in a breath and sighed, slipping more deeply into sleep.
The warm, gushy feeling that had replaced his worries for a moment when she snuggled in close began to be pushed quickly aside by the other worry that had been plaguing him for days; Roxanne. That same dread that he felt for her throughout the past several days showed it's ugly head again as he lay there watching her shoulders rise and fall in time with her even breaths and felt her soft, warm body wrapped protectively in his arms.
They both knew when they decided to jump headlong into their relationship shortly after the battle with Titan that being with him meant risks for her; not just because he was the hero, but also because he was the former villain, earning him plenty of enemies from both sides of the law. Despite that, they both wholeheartedly agreed that the chance to finally be together after years of having to hide their feelings for one another was worth every risk imaginable. For a while both Megamind and Roxanne were cautious and watchful for any sign of trouble, but after time Roxanne seemed to relax about it; she continued to be careful, but had grown to trust his protection completely and never felt the need to worry.
Megamind however rarely stopped worrying for her, and for some reason the drama that was unfolding with Metro City's newest villain had him more worried than ever. He had to keep her safe; after all, she was everything to him. She was the first person to believe in him and had been his whole world for years; she was the whole reason behind his change of heart and the beginning of his new and happy life. He honestly couldn't imagine going on another second if something ever happened to her.
His concern gave way to impatience to get the show on the road; he wanted to talk to Chris and the other officers right now so they would have an idea of exactly what was going on and who they seemed to be up against… he just wished he knew more about the bad guy himself. Maybe I could just call him right now, or even better, swing by his house and talk to him in person.
When he looked at the clock, he was disappointed to find it was only shortly before four in the morning; not exactly a very convenient hour to show up at someone's home with important information, not even to place a quick call to explain things. No, he wanted to be sure he had Chris' attention when he told his story, and waking him up before the sun wasn't the proper way to secure either his consideration, or his cooperation.
Trying for a few moments to drift back to sleep, he realized quickly there was no use in even bothering; he was too wide awake to even consider trying to lie still when he was so antsy and his mind was so busy with the multitude of thoughts that buzzed back and forth. He had to get up and move, get his mind absorbed into something productive or all the nagging worries would eat him alive. With that, he placed a kiss atop Roxanne's head, and then gently and slowly lifted his arm from her and began to slide his way out of bed, taking care to make as little noise as possible.
Just when he thought he had made it up safely without disturbing his girlfriend, there was a rustle of sheets and blankets as she stretched again and he heard her voice sleepily say, "Where are you going?"
Darn it, I should have been more careful! "I'm sorry Roxanne, I didn't mean to wake you. I can't sleep, so I thought I'd just get up and go to the lab for a while. Go back to sleep sweetheart, I'll see you later."
"What time is it?" she asked in the midst of a yawn.
"Four o'clock."
"Can't sleep… you mean you haven't slept yet at all?"
"No, I did. A little." he answered as he stood up and reached for his suit.
"Megamind, come back here. You have a lot going on today, you should try to sleep a little more."
"That's all I've been doing for hours. I can't try any more, I've got to get up and do something; get my mind on something constructive."
Roxanne sat up and watched as he finished dressing, yawning and trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. He walked around to her side of the bed and sat down next to her, asking in a low voice with a sultry smile, "Zip me up?"
Typically it had been the brainbots job to assist him with dressing, but since Roxanne moved in they had adopted a strict "no brainbots in the bedroom" policy for reasons ranging from preserving their privacy from the ever curious creatures that noticed everything, to simply ensuring a decent night's sleep.
Since day one when Roxanne moved in, the bots seemed to have staked a claim on her. They were smitten with her and followed her protectively throughout the lair as often as they could, jostling one another around so they could be the one closest to her, therefore securing the prominent position to be able to fetch her anything she needed. Before the new rule was established, they would race for the best spot on the bed so they could be closest to her, pushing and snapping at each other with metal jaws and pincers like sassy schnauzers greedily refusing to share the affection of the owner they adored.
Roxanne thought the display was as cute as it could be until she realized how little sleep she and her beau were getting due to waking up in the middle of the night crammed together between a sea of robotic tendrils and glowing blue domes. Despite being shooed away each night, they would sneakily open the door and waft their way back in shortly after their daddy and his new friend were sound asleep, quietly alighting on the bed and crowding their way in as closely as they could to Miss Ritchi, who was rapidly becoming their favorite person in the world.
Megamind had held his tongue about his increasing irritation with his pets because he assumed Roxanne was just as enamored with them as they were with her, and she kept a lid on her frustration because she was afraid to hurt her boyfriend's feelings, knowing that he had quite a soft spot for the odd little creatures.
All that changed shortly after she moved in when Megamind, half asleep and particularly annoyed at finding himself and Roxanne scrunched into a pile in the middle of the bed once again and surrounded by bots on all sides, lost his temper and kicked out at the closest bot, attempting to scare it and its brothers away. Instead of frightening off the offending cyborg, it testily chomped its metal jaws down on the back of the sleepy and unaware hero's thigh, producing a shriek that woke every occupant in the lair, biological and mechanical alike. From that moment on, Megamind laid down the law; no more bots in the bedroom, and Roxanne, amidst hysterical giggles, wholeheartedly agreed.
Now that Megamind no longer had his personal entourage of brainbots close by and hovering in wait to help him dress the moment he got out of bed, Roxanne had assumed the duty of zipping his difficult to manage top and helping him with any of the other details that his heroic wardrobe required.
"There you go, handsome," she said flirtatiously as she finished pulling the zipper up his back.
When he heard her teasing tone of voice, he swiveled around and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly and chuckling as he nuzzled her neck with his goatee, rubbing the prickly hairs into her sensitive skin and producing a shiver and a giggle from his love. He withdrew from her just enough to give her a kiss, leaning forward as he did so, and gently pushing her back to her pillow in the process. When she was nestled comfortably back in the warm spot on the bed, he stood and pulled the blankets up to cover her, then bending to kiss her once more he turned to go.
"Goodnight, sweetheart. I'll see you tonight. Please be careful out there today." he said.
"I will, Megs. You too." she sleepily whispered as she watched him go.
Her eyes followed him all the way to the door, and as he left and the door closed quietly behind him, she rolled over trying to find sleep again. Despite her comfortable position in the warm, soft bed, her mind was now more than wide awake and running at full tilt. She realized in short order that there was no way she'd be able to fall asleep again, especially knowing that he was up puttering around in the lab, trying to keep his prodigious mind busy and work his cares away. Why am I still lying here when he's down there by himself worrying? He needs me right now…
With a final stretch, she threw the covers back and slid out of bed, determined to be there for the man who had always been there for her when she needed him, and she knew always would be.
When Megamind walked into the lab, he was shocked to see his best friend sitting at the work table, tinkering with the prototype of the new De-gun. He was concentrating fiercely on adjusting the tiny parts inside, leaning over the gun with squinted eyes. His tongue poked from the corner of his fang filled mouth from time to time as he threw himself completely to his task, clearly oblivious to anything but the piece of precision weaponry at his fingertips. Then turning to the computer, he would plunk in new settings and run diagnostics, making sure the final touches were in place and the new weapon was ready for another round of tests. The spacefish was so engrossed in what he was doing, he didn't even notice his boss when he first entered the room.
"Why are you up so early, Minion?" asked the former bad boy as he approached the table.
When Minion heard the voice address him he looked up with a start, his big brown eyes wide with surprise. "Sir, what are you doing down here? Don't you know what time it is? You really should be in… "
"Yes, yes. I know, Roxanne just said the same thing. You're both right of course, but I can't sleep. I figured if I'm going to be awake anyway, I might as well make the time useful rather than lying in bed thinking. And what about you, my scaly sidekick?"
Minion smiled at his friend's question and said, "Well, I think it's about the same for me as it is for you. I woke up a couple of hours ago and just couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to finish up the De-ep Freeze setting on the new gun so it would be ready for you to test out later today. Just one less thing for you to worry about, Sir."
Touched by his lifelong friend's devotion, Megamind gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder and said with a smile, "You really are fantastic, you know that Minion?"
His sidekick chuckled and said mischievously, "Oh yes, Sir. I know!"
Minion stepped aside and watched as his boss bent close to inspect the progress he had made on the De-gun in the past hour. Megamind picked up one of the tiny precision tools that had been laid out carefully along side the gun, and began touching the internal workings gently, moving aside wires and examining the minute details that lay hidden deep within.
Absorbed in the inspection, Megamind commented without looking up, "You've done a good job here Minion, I honestly couldn't have done better myself. There are only a couple of minor adjustments needed that I can see right off the bat, and those are easily taken care of."
Minion's heart was warmed at the glowing compliment. In the fish's eyes, being told by Megamind that he couldn't have done better at something himself was greatest form of praise he could possibly receive. In the six months since his boss' change of heart, he had progressed so much in the way of being thoughtful for the feelings of others and making sure his sidekick felt appreciated for all his hard work and loyalty.
His train of thought began to wander again toward the thing that had kept him up most of the night; his boss' worrisome predicament. He continued to watch his blue friend as he tinkered with the gun, beginning the minor adjustments needed to make the gun test-ready. As he did, his sharp little mind ran through the situation, finally resting on his most pressing question at the moment… had he yet decided to bring the police in on everything he knew, or would he continue on with his stubborn insistence to keep quiet and press on alone.
The fish's thoughts were cut short when he heard his friend ask, "What exactly is running through that mind of yours, Minion?"
His eyes turned toward Megamind as he worked, and he wasn't surprised to find that the astute alien had noticed his preoccupation without even needing to look up from his project. He was still leaning over the gun, intensely focusing on the last minute modifications.
Hearing his boss' intuitive query, Minion almost decided to go ahead and ask the question that was burning in his mind, but at the last moment as he opened his mouth to speak, he found he was unable to pluck up his courage to voice his thoughts. Instead, he simply stated, "Oh nothing. I was just wondering how close you think the gun is to being ready to be used in the field."
Megamind poked away at the weapon in silence for a few more moments and then answered, "Not long. I think we have it in hand… I'm sure it'll be ready for the field test today, and after that we'll start using it regularly."
After another moment, he put down his tools and straightened himself with a stretch. Then turning to Minion, he said, "I'm going to tell them you know. I'm going to talk to Chris this morning."
"You are?"
"Yes, I've come to the conclusion that holding back is detrimental to getting this thing solved, so I'm planning on meeting with Chris today to give him all the information we have."
Minion simply looked at him with an immensely surprised expression; what a change from the way he'd been seeing things the night before. There's no way he came to that conclusion without a little help from a certain reporter I know…
Minion's surprised expression contained enough of an incredulous edge to cause Megamind to backtrack a bit, saying, "Well, I came to the conclusion based on the recommendation of a trusted confidant… "
Minion's wide eyed surprise shifted to a knowing smirk, and although he tried to hide it so as not to embarrass his boss, that smirk had 'Yeah, you're doing it because your girlfriend told you to do it' written all over it.
After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Megamind huffed, and with a roll of his eyes he said, "Yes, ok… I'm doing it because Roxanne said she thinks I should! What's wrong with that, huh? She is the smartest person either one of us knows. Well, maybe not you… you do know me and no one equals my intellect, although do I think she comes just about as close as it gets. But her advice is solid gold. I really need to start listening to her more often."
Suddenly interrupting his indignant monologue, a voice called out behind him, "I heard that you know, and I'm holding you to it!"
Both spaceman and fish turned with surprise toward the door to see the very woman in question, sauntering in with a supremely smug look on her pretty face; her crooked smirk laced with affection for the man she overheard admitting that yes, he certainly did need to listen to her more often. I couldn't have timed this more perfectly! I'm gonna have to be sure to remind him of that little admission every now and then, just to help keep it fresh in his memory…
Megamind watched as she approached, a look of surprise on his face which was accentuated by a single raised eyebrow. Why would she be up now when she still had two hours before she needed to be up to start her day?
Just as he was about to open his mouth to voice his question she wrapped her arms around him, and kissing him on the lips she said gently, "I had to get up. When you left all I could think about was you down here worrying, so I wanted to be here for you."
Her boyfriend's surprised face softened into an adoring smile and he said, "Thank you, sweetheart."
As she placed her hand on his cheek and returned his smile, their eyes filled with devotion as they gazed at one another, Minion found a smile of his own tugging at the corners of his lips and discovered a bit of heat beginning to color his cheeks. Not wanting to intrude on their private moment, he turned away shyly to occupy himself with the De-gun. No matter how many times he witnessed moments like this between them or even how awkward he sometimes felt when they showed their affection for one another, his heart glowed with delight to see them so happy together; to know that despite it all, Sir was truly loved by such an amazing woman.
After a moment of raptly sharing a longing look in one another's eyes, Megamind said softly, "I'm glad you came down. I really needed your company this morning."
"I'll always be here for you when you need me Megs," she replied, and after one more kiss on his lips she whispered, "Don't ever forget that, ok?"
"I won't," he answered, his once self professed black heart now bright and melting in the glow of her adoration for him.
"Well since we're all down here together, how about I go and make up some breakfast and coffee?" Minion asked cheerfully, trying to find a polite way to excuse himself from the increasingly uncomfortable fact that he was smack dab in the middle of what seemed to him like a mushy romance novel.
Roused from their dreamy eyed gaze, Megamind and Roxanne turned to look at their aquatic friend as though they had just now noticed he was in the room. With a fond smile Roxanne said, "Oh sure Minion! That would be great. Can I help you at all?"
"No, no. I've got it under control. You and Sir can just stay here and take it easy while I get it all set up; it shouldn't take very long."
With that, Minion smiled sentimentally at the couple one last time, and then turned to lumber off to the kitchen to do what he could to help them have a pleasant start to what would likely be a difficult day.
When Minion announced that breakfast was ready, the three of them sat down together to thoroughly enjoy the meal that he had treated them with. As it turned out, this surprise was truly a perfect start to their day. It was a chance for them to talk, and laugh, and enjoy each other's company, and simply remove their minds for a while from the difficult situation that seemed to envelope them all; a chance to forget for a bit and just be normal.
When they had finished and Minion began to clear away the dishes and clean up (insisting once again that they both relax and take it easy for the rest of the morning until it was time for them to start their day), Roxanne settled in to do one of her favorite things; watch her brainy boyfriend at work on one of his amazing inventions.
She sat on a stool next to him at his work table, elbows on the top and her head resting on her hands, leaning in so as to get the best view of her genius in action. With a smile she observed him as he bent close to the new gun, making minute adjustments with odd looking little tools that reminded her of the precision implements used by watchmakers in ages gone by. The look of intense concentration on his face made her want to giggle with affection for him; the way he squinted his green eyes at the tiny parts hidden inside the shell of the weapon, the knitting of his brows as he labored over a particularly tricky bit of adjusting, and the adorable way one side of his lip drew back when he wrinkled his nose without even realizing he was doing so.
It took quite a lot of control for Roxanne to maintain composure as she watched her genius absorb himself in his task. Not wanting to distract him or break his focus, she put her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles that threatened to burst out as she smiled down at him, allowing her laughter to bubble up in her heart instead. It was also becoming increasingly difficult for her to stop herself from moving in close between him and the object of his intense absorption and kiss the heck out of him. Mmmm, those gorgeous blue lips looked deliciously kissable when he pulled that one side back from time to time or pursed them together in a moment of extreme fixation.
Finally, with a grin of triumph, he straightened himself and said, "Ah-ha! Finished at last, and it's perfect!"
"Wait, how would you know if it's perfect? You haven't tried it out yet have you?"
"Well, we tried it out last week and the test results were… less than exemplary." he said as the memory of the disaster they were left with that morning when the gun malfunctioned and froze an entire section of his monitors and controls solid under a thick sheet of ice, along with a few unlucky brain bots who happened to get in the way, and Roxanne's laptop, flitted through his mind. It was a good thing that Roxanne had been working incredibly late that evening, because it had given them more than enough time to figure out how to thaw the whole mess without destroying the inner workings of the sensitive equipment. His panic at the realization of how incredibly ticked she would be if her expensive laptop had been ruined remained fresh in his memory. Yes, it would be best not to broach that subject just now…
"But we pinpointed the defect and were able to make just a few minor adjustments to solve the problem. It should be perfectly operational right now, as we speak!" he said quickly, trying to move the conversation along so as to distract his astute girlfriend. As he spoke, he thrust a finger into the air to punctuate his point, a look of manic excitement glimmering in his eyes.
"Yeah well, you might want to think about adding a De-Frost setting to go along with that, just in case. You never know when you might accidentally freeze something you don't want frozen, like… oh, say… sensitive monitors and instruments?"
As her words registered, his manic grin sank into an open mouthed gape. Hmmm, De-Frost? That's not a bad idea, that could come in really ha… Hold on a second, does she know?
The corners of Roxanne's lips slid up in a mischievous smirk and she added, "and computers?"
His open mouthed gape instantly turned into a slightly panicked wide eyed stare as he tried to think of how the heck she could possibly know what had happened that day. She did know, didn't she? But maybe she just accidentally guessed and doesn't even realize it…
"Why Roxanne, what are you talking about? Surely you know I would be far more careful than to make a… ridiculous mistake like that. My brilliance would never allow for such a faux-pas. I mean, really, that's the kind of blunder one would expect from an amma-toor, not a seasoned genius such as myself."
Roxanne simply gazed at him knowingly for a moment, her eyebrow rising on one side to match the corner of her lip as she smirked at him. Oh, this is so much fun! Look at him squirm, he's so damn adorable!
"In fact, you might want to go ahead and test it outside, just to be on the safe side." she added, having difficulty keeping a straight face and the laughter out of her voice.
"Well, of course! I'm surprised you would find it necessary to tell me these things, Roxanne; things any sensible genius would simply do automatically." he responded, trying to sound indignant and hoping to throw her off the trail. How the hell could she… MINION! Information like that is to be given out on a strict need to know basis only. Code: I'm going to have to have a review with him about our Do-Not-Divulge policy!
Just then, the voice of their aquatic friend rang out in the open space of the lab, "All finished! Now, how are the adjustments coming along, Sir? All ready for a trial run?"
Megamind's oversized head snapped toward the fish, answering his query with a silent glower, his eyebrows lowered dangerously as he watched his friend approach.
When Minion saw the livid expression on his face, he slowed down, and in a slightly confused voice, he asked, "Is, um… everything ok… Sir?" Oh no, now what did I do?
Quick as a flash, the look of disdain was replaced with a smooth grin when Roxanne turned questioningly toward him, and in an ever so slightly forced voice he answered, "Of course, my piscean partner, why on Earth would you ask?"
Turning to his lady love, Megamind said, "Roxanne, you had mentioned doing a little research for me in regards to previous crimes that seemed suspiciously related to the situation we find ourselves in now. You wouldn't happen to have that handy, would you? It would be a fantastic addition to my presentation for the police today… a little back up information to help get our point across."
Roxanne instantly grew serious as she answered, "Oh yeah. I've got it all ready to go. I'll just go grab it for you; be right back."
As Megamind watched her hurry away, he called out with a smile, "Thank you, sweetheart."
Then turning to his nervous little friend with a scathing glare, he added, "And while you're gone, MINON and I are going to have a little conversation about confidentiality… aren't we, Minion?"
The fish's only response was a hesitant smile and an uncomfortable laugh. Oh man. I'm not sure why, but I'm in trouble!
Roxanne returned a short time later with a portfolio containing a small stack of papers in her hand to find her blue boyfriend finishing what looked like a heated discussion with Minion, who stood cringing slightly and looking rather sheepish.
"Is everything alright?" she asked with concern as she approached Megamind, who spun around to face her when she entered the room, a smooth smile spread across his face. "Of course it is! Minion and I were just having a review of some of the long standing procedures we have in place around here. It's been a while since they've been discussed so I thought now would be as good a time as any to go over them; refresh his memory a bit."
"Oh, anything I should know?" she asked, slightly puzzled as to why the fish would look so uncomfortable about what sounded like such a simple discussion. Whatever it was it must be important, maybe I should know about this too…
"Oh no, just some things that have been laid out specifically for Minion. Nothing you need to worry about at all, my love. Now, what do you have for me?" he said as he reached out and took the papers from her.
She looked at him suspiciously for another moment, then turned back to Minion who continued to look more like someone who had just received a scathing lecture instead of a quick review of rules and procedures. Well if he won't tell me I'll ask Minion later. I can always find out from him what I need to know whether he comes right out and tells me or not. Hmmm, I hope he didn't get into trouble about…
Her thoughts were immediately pulled back to the current conversation when she heard Megamind ask in a slightly surprised voice, "This really doesn't seem like very much; is this all you could find?"
"Yeah, that's all there was. I remember when these happened too, that's one of the things that struck me as so strange about them; they were such small crimes… I was shocked that anyone would actually believe that you would even bother with something like that. Look at the dates on those. You were at the height of your villainous career then; I mean seriously, why would you stoop to purse snatching or knocking over a 7-11 for a few bucks when you were in the middle of the final stages of planning the Equistrinator, or that last one… the Recyclo-tron of Doom?" she said, and as she did she couldn't help but add in a little drama to her voice and a tiny roll of her eyes at the ridiculous code name he had bestowed upon the plan that preceded the fateful Death Ray.
As he listened to her talk about his pre-hero days that were rife with kidnappings and astounding contraptions of destruction, he couldn't help but assume a rather nostalgic expression. His eyes clouded over with a slightly dreamy Ah, those were the good old days look as he relived the excitement of some of his most glorious creations. Especially the Equistrinator, yes that was definitely one of his favorites, even if everyone else thought it was a parade complete with an oh-so-cute unicorn. Minion handing out balloons to the kiddies certainly didn't help any! But, ah, that's all in the past I suppose; Water over the bridge, as they say…
His nostalgia wasn't lost on Roxanne, who paused as she watched the dreamy eyed expression develop into a wistful smile. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, she found herself smiling along with him for a moment. He was just too cute when he relived bits and pieces of the old days for her resist soaking it in for a minute or two.
Minion seemed to recover from his review the instant he heard mention of the plan that was his personal favorite as well. His big brown eyes lit up as the memory danced through his mind, and with a chuckle he couldn't help himself from saying, "Oh Boss, remember how cute the kids were; they were so excited about those balloon animals I made for them! That was my first try at making those you know… I was pretty pleased with how they turned out!"
As he spoke, the blissful smile on his boss' face began to tighten, and his eyes narrowed as he turned them slowly to regard his hench-fish. Noticing his strained expression, Minion immediately followed with, "And Sir, of course they loved you too. That must have been a thrilling day for them; remember the way they crowded around the sidewalks and cheered for you like that? Oh, you know what we could do? We could do it all over again! Bring out the old girl and shine her up, decorate her a bit and give this city a parade to remember! Hey, this time we could even throw candy to the kids!"
Roxanne had been noticing an increasing level of irritation developing in her boyfriend's face as he listened to Minion go on about the "parade" that had once been his boss' pride and joy among all his many terrifying plans. After that moment of indulging in sentimentality, she figured it was high time to refocus their attention to the subject at hand, if for no other reason than to prevent an outburst from her boyfriend and another "review" for Minion.
With an earnest expression she touched his arm to pull him back to the present and said, "Megamind, don't you think we need to focus our energy on what's in the portfolio here?"
His eyes snapped back to her and instantly resumed a serious, thoughtful expression, and he said, "Oh yes, of course. I see there were some muggings here too… "
"Exactly! How could they possibly have believed that you would have been a part of those muggings? You were great at playing the evil villain part, but you never hurt anyone. And look… every one of those crimes had a couple of common themes. They all say you were alone; Minion was nowhere in sight, which never happened. He was always there helping you in one way or another. And they all mentioned there being fog or mist around when it happened. "
"Yes, well you have to remember who was handling these cases, my dear. Although they're getting much better, the MCPD was never known for their astute handling of detailed investigations; or, well any investigations for that matter. Little details like these were often lost on them in those days."
Roxanne's eyes narrowed with doubt when she heard his words. She had hoped that her findings would be a great help to him, but now she wasn't sure it was enough. Suddenly an important detail popped into her head, and she piped up, "Oh, there's a hold up in there that happened during one of my kidnappings, so you were with me; you had an alibi. I added that information in there for you too, so that should help… "
Glancing up from the reports, he met her eyes for a moment and nodded, answering quickly, "Yes, I think it will." With that he returned his attention to perusing the information he held in his hand, looking for the specific page she had mentioned..
He stood a moment longer, silently leafing through the stack of papers that Roxanne had brought to him and allowing his oversized brain to absorb the information. He hoped that it would soon begin to help make sense of the situation; give him a better idea of exactly who he was dealing with, and at the very least he hoped it would be enough information to help remove any suspicion from him.
As he gave a final scan over the bundle of papers, he said, "Roxanne, this is wonderful; I think it will be very helpful for me to have this on hand today." Then closing up the portfolio, he looked up at her with a grateful smile. He reached out and took her by the elbow, leading her in close to him. Wrapping his lean arms around her and gazing into her impossibly blue eyes he said, "Thank you sweetie, I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."
Her anxious expression relaxed instantly when she heard his affirming words, and she asked, "So you think it's alright? Will it be enough? I was a little worried when you asked if that's all I was able to find… "
"Oh no, don't be worried. I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I think it's perfect actually, each one of those situations have the same elements we're seeing now; it's quite obvious to anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence that they're all related." The trouble is the collective lack of that reasonable amount of intelligence I'm so often finding with the cops in this city.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. And like I said last night, I'll take this to Chris first. He's the smartest cop I've ever known; he'll see this information for what it is. And he knows how to handle his coom-radds; all the ins and outs of dealing with the more thick headed of the lot… something I'm still getting a handle on. He'll make an excellent ally." he reassured her with a smile.
She smiled back at him when she heard his heartening encouragement, and she closed her arms around him, tucking her face into his neck as he tightened his hold around her waist. They stood for a while holding one another with eyes closed, sharing in each other's strength to help them get through the coming day.
As much as he hated to interrupt them, Minion cleared his throat and said, "Um, Sir… Roxanne, I'm sorry to butt in, but it's about time we get going. It's getting later and we need to get started as early as possible… "
The couple reluctantly pulled apart when they heard his reminder, but continued to hold on to one another's hands as Megamind said, "He's right, we have to go. I'll call to let you know how things go as soon as I can."
She smiled and said, "Ok… I love you."
"I love you too." he answered with a gentle squeeze of her fingers as he turned to go, continuing to look over his shoulder at her for another moment as he and Minion headed toward the car.
"No worries Roxanne. I've got his back! See you later!" Minion called out to her in an attempt at sounding cheerful. He hated to see her worry, and wanted to do his part to alleviate her concerns.
She stood a moment longer, watching them retreat into the depths of the lair to find the invisible car, and felt her stomach clench nervously as she thought of what he was about to do. Oh please let it work out for him; please let it be alright…
Hope you liked it!
Please leave me a review? I know this is called begging, but honestly, your reviews are what keeps this story going and makes me want to write more.
My apologies to any of you who have reviewed but haven't received a thank you from me. Like I said, I've been so busy, and I think I may have neglected to send out a response to a couple of you (I feel really bad…), so I'm taking this opportunity to say thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed… THANKS YOU!
Your kind feedback is always so very much appreciated, it means A LOT, I promise!
Now don't forget, chapter 11 will be uploaded in a couple of days. Hope you'll be back to see what happens next!