The process of water treatment is quite complicated. There's the filtering, and the chemical treatments, and getting the sludge out, and the removal of unwanted organics, and... well, it turns out that providing safe, clean water for millions of people is an amazing process.
Don't get me started on the sewage.
Niccolo Machiavelli quotes are from his book, The Prince.
Once in this chapter Megamind refers to Minion as his right-hand man, to drive home the point that Minion is a person. (I think I've been calling Minion a fish a little too often in this fic; I think of it more as a private endearment that Megamind calls him. To other people, I think Megamind would want to make Minion's personhood clear. I may be overthinking it, but there it is.)
Blackened skeletons littered the ground around the water treatment plant, some of them headless. Dead trees creaked. A number of burned-out cars had been put up as a rough barricade. At least one of the cars had exploded.
Megamind and Minion exchanged dark looks. "Hot Flash," Megamind said. "Wonder if the rest of the Doom Syndicate is holed up in there?" He stroked his chin. "This may require some diplomacy."
"Gotcha." Minion clicked the safety off his blaster. "Okay, you wanna take the front? I'll sneak around back with the smoke bombs and a couple of..."
"No, Minion, I meant real diplomacy," he snapped.
"Seriously? With the Doom Syndicate?"
"It may not be all of them. Besides, there are civilians in there. I doubt that Hot Flash and her gang know anything about keeping the plant running."
"Destruction Worker might."
"They're not the sort of group that rallies 'round each other in times of trouble. When chaos fell, it was probably every gang for itself."
"Well, I hope you're not planning on whisking them back to the Lair," Minion huffed. He gave him a sharp look. "You're not, are you?"
Roxanne said, "Shouldn't think we'd have to. Besides, we have to keep the plant running. Would you trust them to defend the place?"
"Possibly. Depends," Megamind said, his heart fluttering at her use of the word 'we'. She thought of them, of her and him, as 'we'. He liked the sound of that. "It would put them to good use for once."
"And keeps them away from the Lair," Roxanne added.
"Great time to officially become Evil Queen, my dear."
She laughed. "I don't see anything particularly eee-vil about this plan."
"Isn't it? It's strong-arming a gang of villains to do our bidding, and eminently practical."
"Yeah, like Machiavelli."
Megamind raised an eyebrow. "It is far safer to be feared than loved."
"Ha." Roxanne tossed her bangs back. "Everyone knows that one. 'It is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares, and a lion to terrify the wolves'."
Megamind drew in a sharp breath. "You've read The Prince." Evil gods, there was no end to her brilliance.
The saucy lift of her chin, her shining eyes and knowing smile beckoned to him. He forgot everything he'd told himself about public displays of affection and took half a step toward her, intending to give her the kiss of all kisses.
Minion waved a hand in front of his face. "Sir, the plant? The Doom Syndicate?"
Megamind shot him a glare, then remembered the other people on the hovercraft.
Everyone was suddenly busy checking their rifles and looking off into the distance. He coughed and turned away, clasping his hands behind his back. "Are your cameras ready, Miss Ritchi?" He called the brainbots forward.
Roxanne's cheeks were pink. She gripped the rail of the hovercraft as if to anchor herself there. "Yeah, I'm ready. You expecting a fight?"
"As long as I show I'm stronger than anyone in there, probably not."
He studied his fidgeting crew of refugees. If it really did come to a fight, he didn't want them getting mixed up in it. They were getting better at killing zombies, but facing battle-hardened supervillains was an entirely different matter. "Stay back. If I tell you to retreat, I want everyone to get on the hovercraft and go back to that 7-Eleven we passed, wait for me. Watch for zombies. And yes, you can shoot the zombies," he said as a couple of people raised their hands. "Brainbot squad 2 will assist you. Squad 1 is with me. Roxanne, could you stay back too? I think I'll have better luck if Hot Flash doesn't have a camera in her face."
"Right. I'll do the shot from over here."
Once everyone was in position, he strode down the sidewalk with Minion at his back, hoping he wasn't going to have to deal with the entire Syndicate. Hot Flash was not too bad, as long as you kept an eye on her. She had tried to kill him once or twice, but always in a very honest and straightforward way.
But Destruction Worker? Backstabbing lout. Lady Doppler? Well, she'd probably flown out of town before the army got the barricades up.
Psycho Delic? Ucch.
Megamind just might have to kill someone today.
Faces peered out from a second story window. One turned and spoke urgently to someone deeper within the room.
Roxanne spoke in a low voice into her mic, describing the scene, talking about the importance of the water treatment plant and speculating on the courage of those who were responsible for keeping it running.
He itched to bring out the boombox. This was the perfect situation for some grand entrance music. All hail the Overlord! Unfortunately, that much noise would draw in every zombie this side of Knox Avenue.
The shattered glass door in the entrance, which had been reinforced with sheets of wood, opened. A portly, balding man stepped outside, hugging a clipboard to his chest. He tiptoed over a charred skeleton and made his way down the sidewalk. The lobby behind him filled up with more refugees of all ages. Faces crowded at the windows. Some children appeared on the roof, the better to see.
Another man who shouldered through the front door looked a little out of place. His eyes were hard and calculating, and they went wide at the sight of Megamind striding up the walk.
Henchman, Megamind decided. He didn't recognize this one, but he looked the sort that Hot Flash liked to keep around, square-jawed, muscular physique, just bright enough to tell left from right. Two little girls clung to his legs. His offspring, probably. Hot Flash had gone to the trouble of gathering the families of her lackeys. Very decent of her, and a good way to ensure they didn't go AWOL.
The henchman glanced around, at a loss with no one to tell him what to do. Another henchman appeared, gaping at the visitors. Megamind recognized that one. Definitely Hot Flash's.
Megamind sketched a salute. "Afternoon, gents. Tell Hot Flash that the Overlord is here to see her." The wind caught his cape, flaring it out to the side, not too high or snappy, just right.
After a brief, whispered conference, Henchman Number One shuffled back into the building, hampered by the kids stuck to his legs. Henchman Two took over guard duty, though he didn't look too happy being the only thing standing between his boss and Megamind, Minion, and fifty brainbots.
The clipboard man had been looking anxiously between the henchmen and Megamind, his head moving back and forth as if at a tennis match played with hand grenades. After the henchman scurried inside, he cleared his throat. "Um, can I help you?"
What would the mayor do? Megamind smiled and decided to pour on the civic charm. "You already have, citizen. You and all of your hardworking employees have been of unfathomable help to the people of this city." He held out his hand.
Dazed, the man grasped the black-gloved hand. "Oh? Thank you? Just doing our jobs?"
"Don't be so modest." Megamind put his other hand on top for the double handshake of sincerity before letting go. "By your actions, you've saved many lives. And you are...?"
The man wiped his brow with his wrist. "Thank you, sir...Overlord...Sir Overlord. Just doing our jobs as best we can. Rueben Eisenberg, I'm director of operations. Um. We brought our families? If that's all right?"
Megamind nodded. "You did what you had to, of course, to protect your loved ones. How many supervillains have taken refuge here?"
"Just Hot Flash, and her... her folks. There won't be any trouble, will there?"
"That depends. Has she and her gang behaved violently toward you or your people?"
Rueben's mouth opened and closed a couple of times. "Oh, no, sir. Not against us, no." He fell silent when Hot Flash came out.
A gray blanket hung from her shoulders. Her once-spikey red hair lay in limp strands around her ears and deep shadows made grooves in her sunken cheeks.
She shrugged the blanket off and marched down the walk, lips pressed together in a thin line. Her right-hand minion Irwin scooped up the blanket and hurried after her. Three henchmen trotted out too, the one man finally having shed the kids.
Rueben fiddled with the clipboard. "She protected us. From the zombies. We'd have been goners. We..."
"If she doesn't start anything, I won't," Megamind said. "But I must ask you not to interfere. Stand aside."
Rueben sidled onto the burned lawn, taking wide steps to avoid stepping on the bones.
Hot Flash came to a stop and glared at Megamind from under her bangs. She had lost so much weight that her clothes hung loose, as if she suffered some wasting disease. Her leather jacket had slipped off one skeletal shoulder. Irwin tried to tug it back in place but Hot Flash shoved him away with her elbow. "What do you want?" she said in her harsh smoker's voice.
Megamind lay one hand casually on his belt, close to the de-gun. "I came to see the conditions here. The water treatment for the city is invaluable. The workers are to be credited for their hard work in keeping the plant operational." He gestured at the charred landscape. "And you, as well, with saving their lives. You've been busy, I see."
She had done her part, after all, and it was only fair to acknowledge her efforts, even if she had acted out of pure self-interest. He didn't expect gratitude or fawning.
In fact, he expected her to sneer 'yeah, that's right, I fought off a bunch of zombies just for you', or 'so you're Overlord of this dump? Ha, you deserve it' or other words to that effect. Sarcastic put-downs were the usual method of communication among supervillains.
She merely looked at him with dull eyes, then ran her gaze around at Minion, the brainbots, and his... for want of a better word... troops. A flicker of surprise passed over her face at the sight of Roxanne, but she still didn't say anything. Not a single 'guess even alien freaks get lucky once in a while' passed her lips.
Megamind said, "Where's the rest of the Syndicate?"
She made an irritated gesture. "Fuck if I know."
"As Overlord I am in a position to offer you support."
"As long as I kiss your ass?"
He raised an eyebrow. "A simple 'yes' will do. I'll even settle for a 'yeah, whatever.'"
She frowned, and looked at his motley crew again. "You really ruling the city? Like, in charge of the cops, shit like that?"
"Making sure people get fed, giving them a safe place to sleep, cleaning up corpses, the daily routine. And only one cop at the moment, and his character leaves something to be desired, but it can't be helped."
"Huh. Always thought if you ever took over the city you'd loot the place and let everybody go hang."
He could feel his hackles rising. "I am here to keep the plant running. I won't let you or anyone else get in my way, so you had better..."
He stopped the ee-vil tirade before it went too far. "Let me rephrase that," he said in more conciliatory tones. If she refused, then he'd bring the hammer down and drive her out. "I will give you assistance in defending it. Food, medical help, ammunition. We can discuss whatever you..."
"I'm tired," Hot Flash said, and folded up her legs and sat down on the ash-covered sidewalk.
Megamind's mouth fell open a little. He shut it. Ooo-kay, this was... a little out of character.
Her gang stared at her in astonishment.
"Irwin, gimme a cigarette," she said.
Irwin fumbled a pack out of his pocket and gave her one.
Hot Flash snapped her fingers at him. "And a light."
Her gang gasped in horror. "Boss," one of them cried.
"Shut up," Hot Flash said wearily. "I'm sick of this. Everybody's out of ammo. Irwin, what'd I just say?"
Irwin took out a book of matches and lit it for her with shaking hands.
Hot Flash took a long drag and closed her eyes. "Need a minute with my gang, Overlord. Do you mind?"
Megamind and Minion went back to the hovercraft.
Roxanne switched off the mic as they approached. "What's happening, guys?"
"She announced that her men are out of ammunition. And she sat down and asked for a light," Megamind said.
"I don't get it."
"Hot Flash asked for a light. Hot Flash. And there wasn't any fire in her hair. She usually flames up a little, to show off."
Roxanne looked at one of Metro City's most infamous crime bosses, sitting among the ashes, her gang huddled around her. "Her powers are gone? How?"
"Could be injury, extreme overuse, trauma, illness. Or all of them put together. It could be temporary, but..." He shrugged.
"What does this mean?"
Megamind glanced over at them too. "She's given up."
The gang had shuffled into a loose ring behind Hot Flash, looking glum. Megamind nodded at Minion, and they walked back over.
"Got a favor to ask," Hot Flash said. "I'd appreciate it if you hired my guys. I got nothin' anymore. I'm burnt out. In more ways than one."
Megamind crouched down and rested an elbow on one knee. He wished that Hot Flash had chosen a shadier spot to have a meltdown. The humidity was almost unbearable today, and the heat from the baked ground wafted up so he felt he was getting roasted from both above and below.
She must have been cold. The blanket was wrapped tight around her shoulders again.
"How'd it happen?" he asked.
She was silent for a few moments, watching the cigarette smoke drift away. "Know what happens when you set a zombie on fire?"
"Because zombies feel no pain, I'm guessing they don't run away screaming. And since the human body contains a huge volume of water, they take a very long time to burn."
"That's right. The motherfuckers just keep coming. Except now they're on fucking fire." The lines on her face deepened. "I had to turn up the heat. A lot. So much. Over and over, concentrate my flame, burn their brains in their skulls. Only way."
She looked at him. "I'm done."
He nodded in understanding, but didn't insult her by offering sympathy. She wouldn't accept it anyway.
On to business. He stood up. "All right. If your lackeys are willing, I'll take them on." He looked each one in the eye. "Whatever Hot Flash is paying you, I'll match it, but you might not see any actual cash until this wretched quarantine is over."
One of the henchmen hesitantly raised his hand. "There a dental plan, Overlord?"
Megamind looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. Why not? If any dentists survived. You and your families will be provided for."
The henchman huffed out a breath. "Wow, that's a relief! I got two little girls, the cutest..." His voice trailed away under Megamind's lowering brows.
"Can we have the meet-and-greet later? That okay with you?" Megamind said. The man nodded hurriedly.
Megamind continued. "Don't expect any perks just because I'm your boss. We're in survival mode, here. There will be no bribes, and no fleecing, bleeding, milking, or otherwise exploiting the citizens, for food, money, sex, or anything else. Minion's my right-hand man and your superior, that goes without saying. Anybody steps out of line, he's alligator feed. You'll work security. You don't like these terms, take a hike."
The henchmen mumbled a little chorus of "Yes, sir."
"This all of them?" he asked.
Hot Flash said, "Four henchmen. And Irwin. All that's left. Two of 'em got girlfriends. Five kids."
Irwin blurted, "I'm staying with Ms. Hot Flash." He defiantly stuck out his nonexistent chin.
Hot Flash gave him an annoyed look. "Irwin, if you don't..."
Megamind broke in. "I wouldn't dream of taking your personal toady away from you." He ran a cold gaze over the little man. "I have more than enough boot-lickers crowding around me, thank you very much."
Irwin beamed. Hot Flash was too weary to protest and went back to staring glumly at the cigarette.
He caught Minion's sideways glance, and saw the question in his friend's eye. He shook his head and grimaced a little, as a promise to explain later. Megamind and the other supervillain would never be friends, but she was trying to do the right thing for her people, and he respected that. He didn't want to leave her all alone, with no one. It felt... wrong.
Hot Flash needed a minion. Having Irwin to kick around would give her someone to live for. He wondered what happened to her latest boyfriend, but it was probably best not to ask.
Megamind asked, "Where's the fourth one?"
"Tony got hurt," Hot Flash said. "Leg torn up by a zombie. We tossed him some bandages and he crawled in there." She nodded at a service shed on the corner of the property. "Guess we just have to wait and see if he turns zombie. Should know by tomorrow, it's been almost three days."
"It's no use isolating him," Megamind said. "This is a variant of the original virus. It lies dormant until the victim dies of other causes, and only then does the zombification process begin. So long as he stays alive, he won't become a zombie at all... is something wrong?"
Hot Flash had gone so pale he thought she would faint.
"That for real?" Hot Flash said, her words grating through her teeth. "That some sick joke? I swear I'll fry you." She used Irwin's arm to stumble to her feet. A wisp of smoke curled out of her ear and went out. It was almost funny.
Megamind held up his hands. "No joke. I'll admit that carrying a dormant virus is nothing to cheer about, but still. Better than the alternative. Isn't it?"
Hot Flash jabbed a finger in Roxanne's direction. "Tell your little girlfriend to turn off the cameras."
He turned to Roxanne, giving her a cut-off signal, pleading with his eyes, as politely as possible. To his relief, she did so, and he mouthed 'thank you.'
Hot Flash was breathing hard. "Josh. He got bit. He thought...we all thought..." Tears ran down her sunken cheeks. "He said he wasn't gonna wait to get sick and die. He... Josh." Her voice broke and she covered her face with her hands.
Irwin put his hand on her shoulder. "He shot himself."
Tony was still alive, though being in the hot shed had almost cooked him. His leg didn't even look too bad. Megamind had him loaded onto the hovercraft to take him back to the doctor.
Next, Megamind ordered everyone out of the plant and conducted a sweep to make sure there were no more supervillains or henchmen lurking in ambush. Hot Flash was deep in grief for her boyfriend and probably telling the truth, but he hadn't survived this long by trotting innocently into a building occupied by a rival without making sure it was secure.
On his inspection, Rueben accompanied him. "We were running the back-up generators for the pumps," the director said, "but the diesel ran out."
"Diesel?" Megamind said. "Regular old diesel? I'll have the brainbots siphon fuel from abandoned trucks. And the metro bus fuelling stations, those are not well known, there may be some left there."
"That'll give us a few more days, but what happens when they can't find anymore?"
Megamind walked past the silent, looming pumps, storage units, and filter systems, and went outside to where the lake lapped against a canal wall.
A short distance away, he spotted a grey slab, like a helicopter landing pad. "A few years back, there was a push to switch the plant over to alternative energy, wasn't there?"
"Oh yeah," Rueben said, nodding at the slab of concrete. "They got the foundation poured for the wind turbine and had the underground cables laid, but the funding dried up. Why? Do you..." he chuckled. "have an extra wind turbine lying around?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Oh."
One of the men in Rueben's plant had once worked for the sewage treatment plant.
"Now, you got yerself a few more problems, there," the sewage man said. "The back-up generators there musta run out too. You could put up a turbine, but there's no foundation, and no cables. It'd have to be completely from scratch."
Megamind shrugged. "Okay, a little more work, but doable. I don't see it as too much of a..."
"And besides the main plant," the man interrupted, "there's ten pumping stations around the city, which keeps the sewage moving to the plant for treatment. They must have finally bit the dust by now, if it's backin' up at your lair like you say. You gotta get those runnin'."
Megamind rubbed his eyes. "Ten stations, plus the plant. What else?"
The man became more gleeful with every piece of bad news. "The lines gotta be pretty clogged by now, so crews are going to have to go around to each station, go into the sewers, and manually open up the sluice valves to get 'em clear. Otherwise, the pumps could break down completely under the pressure."
"This has to be done for all ten stations."
"You got it, Overlord! Oh, and they probably ran out of chemicals for the actual, you know, treatment. Better look into that. Otherwise you're gonna get raw sewage pumped right into the lake. Like what happened back in '77, hoo boy, I think twenty people got sick, the city got sued and everything." He shook his head. "Man, what a time."
Megamind turned a weary face to Reuben. "How about you? What chemicals do you need for purification?"
"Oh, we've got that covered, we produce chlorine right here on site. Simple process of electrolyzing salt solutions."
Megamind exhaled heavily. "At least that's some good news."
"It's the filters we need to replace. They're so clogged I'm amazed they lasted this long."
Minion went with the brainbots to make sure they didn't take fuel from any trucks that were still in use. The brainbots wouldn't be able to make that kind of nuanced judgment. Megamind didn't want to steal gas from survivors.
Megamind had Reuben look into the possibility of getting the filters cleaned. He left Hot Flash's gang (though he supposed he ought to start thinking of them as his henchmen now, which was weird; the only henchman he'd ever had was Minion) with a couple of rifles to guard the plant, promising to send back food and more rifles, and to set up a communications system. Hot Flash disappeared to an inner room somewhere and he let her be.
Maybe he ought to drop leaflets over the city, explaining the nature of the virus, to convince people that even if they got bitten or scratched, it wouldn't automatically make them into zombies. Hopefully it would stop any more unnecessary suicides.
Megamind stopped at a mattress warehouse and dehydrated the entire inventory, then did the same at a motel. People would finally have beds.
A water bottling factory was his last stop. He took about half the bottles, and left the rest for scavengers. Once Minion got the generators for the plant going, they should have running water in the pipes again, but who knew what other difficulties might spring up?
They headed back to the safe zone.
Purple clouds lined the horizon, over the lake in the west. A cold front was moving in, thank all that was evil. The coast guard boats were toys in the distance. I hope their stupid boats get swept away in the storm, he thought sourly. A hot breeze had begun to blow, pushed ahead of the front.
"Looks like tornado weather," Roxanne said. "I hope it misses us."
"Only if our luck changes," he muttered. He leaned against the rail and hugged his chest. He hoped the crossed arms gave him a commanding air, but he probably looked like a hunchback. He was only standing because his knees were locked into place.
"We'll be back soon," Roxanne said. "Then you can rest for a while."
He glanced at her. Despite her casual words, a faint line was between her brows.
"I'm fine," he said.
Roxanne's frown deepened and it looked as if she was going to argue with him, but instead she tilted her head. "Hear that? Sounds like a child."
Megamind listened. It was a child crying, not too far off, cutting through the hovercraft's motor in a thin thread of sound.
They reached the peninsula, and saw the crowd milling around in front of the brainbots guarding the border.
More newcomers, and some of his own established guests.
"What the hell's going on?" he snapped, hopping off the craft before it even came to a complete stop. He had to shout to be heard over the screeching. "Why are you all hanging around out here? Isn't that Brenda's daughter? Like a goddamn zombie dinner bell!"
Doris marched up, red-faced. "Mister Overlord, I have repeatedly asked you to watch your language! Your robots won't let the new people in!" She shook a furious finger at him. "They came here for help, and because of your bad, bad robots, we had to come out here, to make sure they were protected."
Hank and several others held up their guns, to demonstrate how well they were doing their jobs.
"But why bring the kid out?" he said, nodding at the little girl, who, though being gently jostled in Sandy's arms, was very unhappy and wanted her mother, and was letting every zombie in the city know it.
"She came with Brenda. We thought she'd be a little happier if she were close to her mother, but Brenda is... is busy."
He ground his teeth. "Doing what?"
"The newcomers had two babies with them, and they were crying. They'd run out of formula, you see. And because you obviously didn't have the sense to stock any, and we had no way to quiet the poor things, Brenda is helping. Nursing them. She's round the corner there, for shade and privacy."
He was taken aback. "What, both of them? How is that possib... no, don't answer that," he said quickly, as Doris gave him a pointed look. "I know. I know, I get it, all right? Just...there's a lot happening right now."
Thankfully, Doris shut up and did not give him an anatomy lesson. She said, "But maybe it would be better to take the little girl back, after all, until her mother can..."
"You think?" he grumbled. "Sandy, would you please take the little shrieker back to the Lair before she brings a zombie horde down on us? Thank you." The brainbots, recognizing the two as Daddy's guests, parted to let them through.
Megamind ordered the 'bots to let in the new people. "These others are Daddy's guests, too. All of them," he said shortly.
"Walk in," he snapped at the newcomers, waving his arm impatiently. "Come on, that's right. Move your feet." He was being too sharp, but he was sick of the nervous fidgeting. He was stressed and pissy and worn out, and he was absolutely melting in this damn muggy sunshine, and the day wasn't over yet.
Roxanne moved to his side. "The Lair's several blocks that way," she said, smiling and pointing. "Come with me." She gave him a little nod and touched his arm as she went by, as if to say, 'I've got this, it's not ALL on your shoulders.'
He heaved a deep breath and felt some of his needless rage drain away. He watched her walk away for a few moments, wishing he was going with her, wishing he could seize her and Minion and fly far, far away from this place, away from the crowds, away from the desperation and suffering.
The madness passed, and he went to load up Brenda, the babies, and the babies' mothers onto the hovercraft. Doris was already taking care of it, kicking the other refugees off so there'd be room. "It's not that far to walk," she snapped. "No, that man can stay on, his leg's hurt."
One small group of newcomers was still hanging back. A man took off his baseball cap as Megamind walked over to them. "We don't want to be any trouble," he said, "but we just thought, if you could sell us a little food, we..."
Megamind, who had found another helping of calm thanks to Roxanne, was able to respond civilly. "Yes, yes, there's food, we can talk about that at the Lair."
"It's just that we found your map."
"Map?"
The man fished out a piece of paper and gave it to Megamind. It was a copy of the map he'd left in the warden's house.
The man twisted his hat. "We know it wasn't meant for us, but we thought...see, we got some money, to pay for any extra food you got. I left the original there, in case your friend comes back. We closed up when we left, but the lock's broken. I'm sorry. We didn't know what else to do."
Megamind stared at the wrinkled paper, his head buzzing. He hadn't thought about the warden in so long. Now his chest was tight and his stomach felt funny.
It didn't matter. Didn't matter.
He swallowed hard and was relieved his voice was steady. "It's all right. These are bad times. I did paint 'Come to the Lair' on the house, didn't I? Keep your money. It's free. Come in."
"Well, we thought we'd take food back to the station. 'Cause there's..."
Megamind's head snapped around. "Station," he said sharply. "What kind of station?"
The man took a step back. "Fire station."
"Are there firefighters?" Megamind shouted, raising his hands.
"Well, yeah. I'm a firefighter."
"Thank all the evil gods in heaven!" Megamind rolled his eyes skyward and clasped his hands together. "I've been looking all over the place for you guys!" He grabbed the man's shoulders. "Any police officers? Medics? Other emergency personnel? Where're you located?"
"Two cops! A lady ambulance driver!" the man yelped. "We're on the corner of 45th and Culver."
Megamind punched at the sky. "Hot damn! Get in here, you! None of you are going back until you're armed to the teeth and we get a comm system set up."
Megamind practically danced over to the hovercraft. 45th and Culver, that was only five blocks away! He'd expand his territory; get the streets cleared for traffic if anyone still had a car that worked, set up guardhouses, safe houses, patrols...
"Everyone aboard?" he said cheerfully.
Brenda was still nursing one of the babies.
Face flushing, he turned his back. He snarled at the wounded henchman, "Close your eyes!"
"I ain't lookin', sir, I ain't!" Tony said desperately. "I got my eyes covered!"
"Well...cover them more," he snapped.
"Coming aboard?" Doris said in a smug tone.
His lip curled. Old bat. He supposed he better ride along to make sure the henchman behaved. The only other person on the hovercraft was Gabby, the pilot. Growling wordlessly, he climbed up, keeping his face averted.
One of the new mothers whispered something to Doris.
Doris snorted. "Oh, don't worry about him. I've been living here for almost a month and he hasn't thrown a single person to the alligators. Not a single one."
It was difficult to glare at her with peripheral vision but he did his best. "That's because living with you, Doris, is so much worse than any alligator."
