AN: Sometimes when ideas hit, they hit hard. I haven't quite figured out where this story will lead yet, but I hope you'll be as excited about the journey as I am!
Roxanne Ritchi has a problem and has been hiding it every month since the accident.
She was well aware that she'd been lucky the last three years since it happened. On those few occasions when she couldn't manage to get out of town on the days she was afflicted, somehow Megamind never kidnapped her late enough in the day for it to be an issue.
Until now.
Roxanne, still tied to the kidnapping chair, looked around nervously. Not because, as one would suspect, she was afraid of the giant laser aimed at her head or even the supervillain that was responsible for her current seating accommodation. But because today's Evil Plot was running late due to an equipment malfunction that Megamind was currently attempting to repair. While the sun was starting to set.
She was running out of time.
"Hey. Are you going to be much longer? I've got stuff to do. Let's get this show on the road!" she prompted while hoping he was only one loose bolt away from being done with his repairs. The quicker he started his broadcast, then the quicker Metro Man could rescue her and the quicker she could get out of here and get somewhere safe. Although, she'd probably have to fake a minor injury to get out of reporting afterwards to get home faster.
"Patience, Miss Ritchi," Megamind chided her from his position halfway underneath his contraption. "It shouldn't be much longer."
She glanced up at the old grimy windows in the warehouse ceiling above her and noticed the light looked a little more golden than it did a little while ago.
She heard a clock in her head ticking faintly.
"I've been tied to this chair for a couple hours now. I don't suppose you have an eta on those repairs?" she asked, attempting to keep her voice from showing her nerves. Luckily her job gave her plenty of practice.
Her only answer was a clank, a painful-sounding thud, and a not-so-muffled curse. He pulled himself out from under his invention and scowled at it while rubbing his left wrist. He turned to the toolbox that his brainbots had brought to him earlier and started rummaging through it, muttering to himself.
Shit. That looks like another setback and even more repairs.
The ticking in her head was gradually getting louder, and now her arms and legs were itching.
"Looks like it needs a little more work before it's ready to defeat Metro Man. Why don't we just call it a day and we can reschedule? Give you a little extra time to work the bugs out," she suggested brightly. If they took her home now, she still wouldn't have time to make it out of town, but she could lock herself in her emergency room. But only if she got home in the next hour. Assuming she was right on guessing what time it was.
She nervously checked the light coming in the window above her. At least she hoped she had an hour. The old, yellowed windows could be making the light distorted, and the grimy buildup wasn't helping things. Not to mention the knock-out spray always throws her internal clock off. This was absolutely the worst day of the month to not be aware of the time.
"Oh, no no no, Miss Ritchi. You're in my ee-vil clutches, and you'll stay there until you're either destroyed or rescued," he taunted.
Well, there was another likely scenario. But he wasn't aware of it. He didn't realize that he was in danger.
From her.
"Yeah, yeah," she answered his refusal distractedly. "Umm, wh-what time is it?"
The moon was already up this cycle, but nothing would happen to her until the sun sets. At 8:04 pm. Since her accident, she made a point to memorize the times of moonrise and sunset on the worst day of the month.
To keep everyone safe.
Even with his back to her, she could tell he rolled his eyes, but he answered, "Not that it matters for your impending doom, but it's 7:45."
"WHAT?!" she yelped. The ticking in her head was suddenly deafening. That meant the tingling she'd been feeling along her skin wasn't just nerves.
She was out of time.
"Megamind! Listen to me," she frantically attempted to get his attention. She bounced in her chair to make it thump on the concrete floor for additional attention-grabbing noise. "I need you to lock me up somewhere. Now. Immediately!" She glanced around the lair worriedly. Lots of metal... "Somewhere with a thick metal door. And heavy locks! Please!"
The sudden panic in her voice got his attention. He turned and looked at her worriedly with his head tilted slightly to the side. He took a concerned step towards her and asked, "Miss Ritchi, are you alright?"
"No! Please! Time-out or whatever. But you need to lock me up! I don't want to hurt you," she begged him to follow her instructions. Her eyes caught sight of his ray gun strapped to his hip and she gasped as a new idea occurred to her. "Or dehydrate me!" she commanded. "Keep me cubed until morning! A-at least until eight. Then we can do your plot! I-I'll scream! On cue, even!"
She glanced up at the window again then back at the stunned supervillain. "Please!" she begged, tearing up slightly. He was an annoyance, but he was kind of her friend. She'd hate herself if she hurt him. Or Minion! He was entirely too vulnerable. And, when she eventually lost her head, edible.
She twisted her hands in her bindings and felt that her nails were already beginning to lengthen. Realizing that, she shot him a terrified look.
Apparently that was enough to convince him, because he drew his gun and checked the barrel.
Before he could shoot her she quickly gave another instruction, "Keep the gun on me when you rehydrate me and use it again if I'm not myself. Then lock me up until I work it out of my system. Please," she begged. She wasn't sure how dehydrating herself would work on her curse. But if it was able to let her bypass the entirety of it, she'd have so many additional options if she could work something out with Megamind.
He aimed the gun at her and said seriously, "I expect a full explanation in the morning, Miss Ritchi."
"That's fair. Just hurry!" she nodded in agreement before everything turned blue.