Chapter 15: Waiting on Superman
A few minutes later, the group stood at the center of the large room in a circle around Doctor Cockroach, who held the two cubes that were once Megamind and Mr. Incredible, and a styrofoam cup filled with water. Carefully, Doc set the cup on the floor before holding the cubes above it. Dropping them, Doc took a few steps backwards as the cubes fell into the cup with a small plop. Almost instantly, the cup split apart and Megamind and Mr. Incredible reappeared, looking a little damp, but otherwise unharmed.
"Well, I don't think I'll ever get used to that sensation," Megamind commented as he shook his head clear before smiling at Doc, who handed the alien his laser gun back, "Well done, Doctor. I'd say that went off without a hitch."
Bob, for his part, took a moment longer to recollect his wits. Once he had however, his attention focused on Megamind as his eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What the hell did you just do to me!?" Bob snapped as he stepped forward and grabbed Megamind by the front of his jumpsuit before lifting the alien off his feet so that the two of them were eye to eye.
"Just a little dehydration," Megamind explained with a nervous titter, "No permanent harm done, I assure you."
"Oh, like I'm going to believe a word from a rat like you!" Bob snarled as the rest of the group looked on nervously.
"Bob, that's enough!" Helen said firmly as she stepped towards her husband.
"No!" Bob retorted as he turned to look at Helen, "I've tried, I really have, but I just can't do it!"
Turning his gaze back towards Megamind, Bob glared daggers at the alien.
"I can't work with the person who murdered Metro Man!" Bob declared hotly.
A silence fell over the room as Bob's words echoed off the walls and Megamind's expression morphed into one of annoyed confusion.
"Is that what this has been about?" Megamind questioned quietly.
"Of course it is!" Bob replied hotly, "What else would it possibly be about!?"
"I always thought that this was just a general lingering resentment towards my old villain days," Megamind explained, his tone terse, "Something that we could work through over time. But I can see now that there has been a fundamental misunderstanding."
"What the hell does that mean!?" Bob demanded.
"I did not kill Metro Man," Megamind answered cooly, "I tried many times, but I can assure you that I never succeeded."
The revelation stunned the group, and for a moment, Bob could only blink in surprise before his expression morphed into one of rage.
"Oh, you lying sack of-" Bob began as he pulled one fist back to throw a punch.
"That's enough, Bob!" Dicker's voice rang out in the echoing room, cutting Bob off and causing him to pause.
Looking over, the group spotted Dicker entering the room with his hands in his pockets, flanked by Lucy and Mirage.
"No, Rick, I've had enough of this guy," Bob said as he pointed a finger at Megamind, who glared back at him, "I can't work with someone who's willing to tell bold faced lies like that!"
"He's not lying, Bob," Dicker stated firmly, "He didn't kill Metro Man."
"Wait, he didn't?" Lucy muttered to Mirage, who rolled her eyes in response.
"Okay, hold up," Lucius spoke up, holding up his hands for emphasis, "If Megamind didn't kill Metro Man, who did?"
"No one did," Dicker answered, "His death was faked."
A look of shock passed over most of the group's face at this, and Bob dropped Megamind in surprise.
"He's alive!?" Bob exclaimed as he turned to fully face Dicker while Megamind straightened his jumpsuit, "What happened!? Is he joining the team!?"
"That won't be happening, Bob," Dicker answered with a shake of his head.
"Why not?" Helen asked as her brow furrowed in confusion, "For that matter, who faked his death?"
At this, Dicker sighed, looking extremely hesitant to provide the answer.
"He did," Megamind answered, his gaze focused on his feet.
"What did you just say?" Bob questioned in confusion as he turned his attention back towards Megamind.
"I said, Metro Man faked his own death," Megamind answered, lifting his now hardened gaze to meet Bob's.
"That….That doesn't make any sense," Bob replied with a shake of his head, turning his attention back to Dicker, "Why would the world's greatest superhero fake his death?"
"Bob, I'm going to be honest with you," Dicker said evenly, "This isn't a road you want to go down."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Bob demanded, his voice becoming heated, "Metro Man was….is a friend of mine, and I want to know what the hell is going on!"
"Take us to him," Megamind spoke up, and when Dicker looked over at the alien, he was surprised by the hardened expression he found looking back at him.
"Excuse me?" Dicker questioned with a quirked eyebrow.
"I know you know where he is," Megamind said, "So get us a transport and take us to Metro Man."
"Last time I checked, I don't take orders from you," Dicker replied, his tone annoyed.
"Look," Megamind stated through gritted teeth, "You want this whole superhero team to work, don't you?"
After a moment, Dicker reluctantly nodded his head.
"Well, I might not know a lot about this sort of thing, but I know enough that it's not going to work if we can't work together," Megamind explained, his voice becoming more heated as he went, "And it has become patently obvious to me that Mr. Incredible and I won't be able to work together while he believes I'm guilty of a crime I didn't commit. The only way this is going to work is if he knows the whole truth."
A quiet moment passed as Dicker stared at Megamind, the alien's gaze never wavering.
"Agent Wilde," Dicker finally said, "Get a transport prepped for Megamind and Mr. Incredible."
"Uh, yes, sir," Lucy replied, blinking in surprise, "Right away."
Dicker merely nodded in reply, while Mirage shrugged helplessly as Lucy shot her a questioning look before making her way out of the room.
"You had better be right about this," Dicker said sternly before glancing at Bob, "And don't say I didn't warn you."
With that, Dicker turned and followed Lucy out of the room, Mirage falling into step behind him.
"Well, Bob," Megamind said, glancing over his shoulder as he began to follow Dicker out of the room, "Looks like we have a plane to catch."
Bob watched Megamind walk away for a moment, his eyes narrowing before moving to follow the alien. He was stopped short, however, when he felt a hand placed on his shoulder and turned to find Helen standing next to him, a concerned look on her face.
"What's wrong?" Bob questioned.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Helen inquired, "I think Megamind is being straight with you, but everything he and Rick keep saying makes it sound like there's something not right with this situation."
"Honey, all I know is that a friend of mine who I thought was dead is actually alive," Bob replied earnestly, "I need to see what's going on here."
"Okay, just….be careful and try to keep an open mind," Helen said with a sigh, "If nothing else, this proves that Megamind wasn't the person you thought he was."
"We'll see," Bob replied doubtfully before he headed towards the exit.
"Sir, your image inducer," Minion said as he fell into step next to Megamind and handed him a wristwatch-like device, "I imagine you don't want to draw attention to yourself on this trip."
"Thank you, Minion," Megamind replied as he took the watch and put it on his wrist without slowing his step.
"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, but are you sure this is a good idea?" Minion questioned, a nervous expression on his face.
"Not at all, Minion," Megamind replied, shaking his head as he exited the room, "Not at all."
Later,
On the outskirts of Metro City, sitting on a solitary highway across from an overgrown and disused field, was a bar. It was far from the nicest bar that either Bob or Megamind had ever seen, with faded paint on the walls and a roof that was missing more than a few shingles. The parking lot was nothing more than gravel, and since it was the middle of the day on a Sunday, there were barely any cars parked outside. A currently unlit neon sign hanging above the door proclaimed this to be "The King's."
"You sure this is the right place?" Bob questioned as he looked over at Megamind. Currently, Bob was dressed in a grey polo under a black jacket, with the ends of the polo tucked into the waist of his blue jeans, with a pair of brown loafers completing the outfit.
"Yeah, this is the place," Megamind answered with a sigh, not taking his eyes off of the sign hanging above the bar's door. Megamind, for his part, appeared completely different, looking like a normal human man with a Caucasian complexion, and brown hair. He wore a brown jacket over a white t-shirt, along with khaki slacks and a pair of white sneakers. A pair of thick glasses with black, square rims sat over his still green eyes.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Megamind asked doubtfully as he turned his gaze towards Bob.
"You ask that after we've already come all the way here?" Bob questioned in reply, his expression incredulous, "This was your idea! I swear, if you're jerking me around…."
"I know, I know," Megamind replied, holding his hands up in front of him, "It's just, as much as I want to prove I'm not a murderer, Dicker was right. You're not going to like this."
"Alright, I'm officially done with all this beating around the bush," Bob said as glared down at Megamind, "Just take me to Metro Man."
Megamind looked at Bob for a single, quiet moment before sighing and gesturing for the large man to follow him. Nodding in return, Bob followed along as Megamind turned his attention back to the bar and headed for the entrance.
The inside of the bar was similar to the outside, with hardwood floors that looked like they hadn't been cleaned in a decade and walls decorated with peeling paint and faded pictures. The lights hanging from the ceiling provided only dim illumination, which seemed to fit the handful of patrons scattered about at the bar's various tables just fine. Along the wall opposite the door was the bar itself, while to the right was a small stage on which sat a single stool in front of a microphone.
"Buy you a drink?" Megamind offered with a hopeful smile as he made his way over to the bar.
"It's eleven in the morning," Bob countered as he followed.
"Not stopping him," Megamind replied as he nodded towards a man laying passed out on one of the tables, "Besides, I think you're going to need it."
Bob said nothing in reply, looking at the man in concern as they passed.
"What do you want?" the sour-looking man behind the bar asked as they approached.
"Just give us two of whatever the cheapest thing you've got on tap is, my good man," Megamind replied, fishing his wallet out of his pants as the bartender nodded and went to work, "Say, when does the entertainment come on?"
"Girls don't come on until tonight, pal," the bartender answered as he filled up a clearly dirty glass with amber-colored beer, "You'll have to get your jollies elsewhere."
"That's fine," Megamind replied with a shake of his head and a good natured laugh, "I meant your morning entertainment anyway."
"The singer?" the bartender asked with a laugh as he placed the pair of drinks in front of Bob and Megamind, "You're here to see that guy?"
"That's what you pay him for, isn't it?" Megamind questioned in return as he handed the bartender some cash, "To bring in customers?"
"Yeah, but this is the first time that investment has paid off," the bartender answered, taking Megamind's money with a chuckle, "He should be on in a bit. I'm sure you'll enjoy the show."
As the bartender moved away from them, Megamind sat on a stool, prompting Bob to as well.
"What the hell are we doing?" Bob hissed at Megamind.
"You'll see," Megamind replied with an awkward grimace as he took a sip of his beer.
Bob looked ready to argue but was interrupted as a barely functional spotlight turned on above the stool on the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" a bold, masculine voice declared over the bar's subpar sound system, "Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for! So let's give a warm welcome to your morning's entertainment. Let's hear it for Wayne Scott, the Music Man!"
With that, a man trotted out of a doorway near the stage, waving to a crowd that was largely paying him no mind. He was a roughly middle-aged man who stood only slightly shorter than Bob with a physique like a professional bodybuilder. He had shaggy black hair that had gone grey at the temples and a trimmed beard that covered his square jaw. He wore a white leather jacket with gold trim and tassels on the sleeves, along with a matching pair of pants and boots. He carried a similarly colored guitar in one hand and scanned the bar with bright blue eyes.
Seeing the man, a look of utter shock plastered itself across Bob's face, his jaw dropping lower and lower as he stared at the musician with wide eyes. Megamind, on the other hand, was less phased.
"Yeah!" Megamind called out, a clearly forced excitement in his voice as he swung a hand above his head in a show of enthusiasm, "I love you Music Man!"
"And I love you, random-" the musician began to reply as he pointed towards Megamind, his voice clearly the same one that had been speaking over the sound system a moment before, before freezing mid-sentence as he caught sight of him and Bob. For a moment, the musician, Wayne, did nothing but stare in shock, still pointing as Megamind gave him an awkward wave while Bob continued to openly gape at him.
"Um, actually folks, I'm going to need a few minutes before I start my set, if that's alright with you," Wayne said as he looked out over the crowd.
Receiving absolutely no response, Wayne leaned his guitar against the stool on stage and made his way over to where Bob and Megamind sat.
"H-Hey guys!" Wayne greeted with a nervous chuckle, his eyes darting back and forth between Megamind and Bob, "H-How's it going?"
There was an awkward pause as Bob continued to stare at Wayne, while Megamind looked between them before he nervously cleared his throat.
"It's going pretty good," Megamind said, "Just wanted to….check up on you, you know?"
"And you brought Bob with you?" Wayne questioned through the gritted teeth of his forced smile.
"Well," Megamind replied as he looked over his shoulder at Bob, who was still staring at Wayne, "Bob was hoping to….catch up, you know?"
"Is, uh, that true, Bob?" Wayne said as he turned his attention towards the man in question, "You want to grab a table and….and catch up?"
The question seemed to snap Bob out of his shock and his expression turned into a neutral, unreadable mask.
"Sure," Bob said coldly, pausing to drain his entire glass of beer in a single gulp, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before continuing, "Let's do that."
With that, Bob set his glass down hard on the bar before standing up and making his way over to an empty, round table near the back of the room. As he left, Wayne shot a worried glance towards Megamind, who offered a helpless shrug in reply as he moved to follow Bob, prompting the musician to do the same.
A few moments later, the three men were situated in chairs around the table, Wayne almost seeming to wither under Bob's cold glare.
"So, wow, Bob, it's been awhile, huh?" Wayne said, finally breaking the silence as he gave the blonde a friendly smile, "I think the last time we saw each other was….what…."
"My wedding," Bob answered, his tone hard.
"Right, right, of course," Wayne agreed with a nervous chuckle, "Wow, that feels like forever ago. Must have been what now, eight or nine years?"
"Twenty," Bob corrected.
There was another awkward pause as Wayne digested this information.
"Wow, it really has been awhile, huh?" Wayne said in genuine surprise, "You and uh, Helen still together?"
"Yeah, that tends to be how marriages work," Bob answered curtly.
"Well, you never know in this day and age, right?" Wayne joked with a chuckle.
Bob said nothing in reply to this, causing Wayne's laughter to awkwardly taper off.
"So, uh, got any kids?" Wayne questioned.
"Three," Bob all but grunted.
Another awkward silence fell over the table.
"Look, Bob, I get that I should have made a bigger effort to stay in contact with you," Wayne said meekly.
"No, it's fine, I understand," Bob retorted with a shrug of his massive shoulders, "Or, at least I thought I did."
"What do you mean?" Wayne questioned in confusion.
"I mean for all those years, I wrote it off, thinking "Well, of course he can't contact me. Even if I wasn't basically living under witness protection, hiding from lawsuits that no one ever aimed at him, he was too busy out there, fighting the good fight because all the lawyers and the politicians couldn't do anything to stop him,"" Bob said with a shrug, "And then, well, you died, and obviously, without a ouija board handy, we wouldn't be able to talk at all, which was also understandable. But then I'm told you're still alive and when I come to see you…."
At this point, Bob seemed to run out of words and he simply gestured at Wayne with both hands.
"What is this, Wayne?" Bob questioned after a moment, a hopeful tone starting to creep into his voice, "Are you….Are you undercover or something? Has this got to do with Enigma?"
"Enigma?" Wayne asked in reply, "Bob, I don't know what you're talking about. This is my job."
"Your job?" Bob echoed in confusion.
"Well, every singer has to start somewhere," Wayne explained with a chuckle, "The point is that this is but my first step towards my ultimate goal of bringing my music to the world."
There was a painfully long pause as Bob's expression turned cold and bitter.
"So, let me get this straight," Bob said, his voice somehow a whisper on the verge of a shout, "You're pretending to be dead so that you can quit being a superhero and be a singer instead?"
As yet another silence fell over the table, Wayne's eyes widened as he realized he had made a mistake.
"I think I'm going to go," Megamind mumbled as he started to rise from his seat.
"Sit. Down," Bob hissed, never taking his eyes off Wayne.
Meekly, Megamind sank back into his chair.
"Bob, I understand that you're upset…." Wayne began to say in a low voice.
"I'm not upset," Bob interrupted, "I'm disgusted."
"What?" Wayne questioned, clearly taken aback by the response.
"You know as well as I do that people like us have a duty to help those in need," Bob snarled as he pointed an accusatory finger at Wayne, "And you just gave up on that because….?"
"It….It was all getting too tiresome, too samey," Wayne mumbled, clearly not proud of the answer.
"So people died because you had a midlife crisis," Bob surmised, making a face as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth.
"That….That's not it at all, Bob!" Wayne argued weakly, "I'm following my passion!"
"Oh please, Wayne, I've been where you are, I know it when I see it," Bob replied with a dismissive snort, "Nobody died when I went through it though."
"What….What are you talking about?" Wayne questioned, his face going pale.
"Oh come on, don't be naive," Bob spat as he gestured at Megamind, "Not everyone we dealt with was like him. Other supervillains didn't treat this like some ridiculous game, something I think you encouraged way more than you should have, to be honest."
"I-I didn't treat what he and I did like a game!" Wayne argued as he pointed at Megamind, who was slowly shrinking in on himself.
"Of course you did!" Bob snapped, "And then, eventually, you got bored, took your ball and went home. And you want to know what happened? People died!"
Wayne said nothing in response, stunned by Bob's growing ferocity.
"He went looking for some kind of replacement, and ended up giving superpowers to a psychopath!" Bob ranted before a look of horrible understanding, "My God, and you were there when it was happening, weren't you. You saw that monster tearing apart Metro City and you just let it happen!"
"Megamind-" Wayne started to argue.
"Megamind wouldn't have had to do anything if you had been there!" Bob shouted, drawing the attention of the rest of the people in the bar, "None of it would have happened if you hadn't been so goddamn selfish!"
"Bob," Megamind said meekly, trying to keep the other man calm as he glanced around at everyone staring at them, "Bob, maybe-"
"How many people died because of what you did, Wayne!?" Bob roared as he pushed himself to his feet, his chair clattering to the floor behind him, and his hands clenching into fists, "How many people!?"
"Hey, that's enough!" the bartender shouted, catching Bob's attention as he cocked the shotgun in his hands and leveled it at the large man, "If you two are gonna fight, take it outside."
Bob stared impassively at the shotgun for a moment, his shoulders heaving as he fought to regain control of himself.
"Sorry, it's fine," Bob said, holding up his hands and making his way towards the door, "I was just leaving."
"Well, it was uh, nice seeing you again," Megamind said nervously to Wayne as he rose to his feet, "Well….maybe not nice….but it was something."
Wayne said nothing in reply as he turned to watch Bob and Megamind go, a stricken expression on his features. Opening the door, Bob paused in the doorway and looked back at Wayne.
"God, Wayne," Bob said as he looked the other man in the eye, "How can you live with yourself?"
When Wayne said nothing in reply, Bob could only shake his head in disgust and leave, Megamind right on his heels.
The gravel crunching under his feet, Bob stomped across the parking lot until he reached the side of the road, where he stopped and glared at the field on the other side. A few moments later, Megamind stepped up next to him, nervously looking up at the taller man.
"So….how are you feeling?" Megamind questioned hesitantly.
In response, Bob reached down, scooped a rock off of the ground and hurled it with a snarl, the rock quickly disappearing over the horizon.
"...Yeah, I kind of figured," Megamind said with a nod.
"He was the best of us," Bob mumbled, still looking at the horizon.
"Huh?" Megamind asked in confusion.
"That's what I always thought, at least," Bob explained, "Out of all of us heroes, Metro Man was the best of us. And not just because he was the most powerful. He just seemed to have this innate goodness to him. Like he could do no wrong. He was the type of hero the rest of us strove to be"
Bob paused as he continued looking out over the field before him.
"In that regard, it would have been better if you had killed him," Bob said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, "I guess this is the part where you say I told you so."
"Well, I certainly was not going to say that," Megamind replied nervously.
"Yeah, well, that's because you're smart," Bob observed with a chuckle.
"I'm not sure I could ever call myself intelligent again," Megamind said, a morose expression spreading across his face, "After all, I'm the man who created Titan."
Looking down at Megamind, a sympathetic look crossed Bob's face.
"You know, all that, it's not really on you, right?" Bob asked, "Sure, you gave the guy powers, but he's the one who chose to do that with them. If anything, you were trying to help people in your own misguided way."
"That's hardly comfort to the people who died and their families," Megamind retorted, "If Metro Man holds blame then so do I, and I'm certain I could continue helping people for the rest of my days and never repay that debt."
As Bob listened to Megamind's words, a look of understanding entered his expression, and he felt as though he was seeing the alien for the first time.
"You know, looking back on it, I feel like I should have known that something was wrong with the whole thing," Bob commented, "Sure, you were always putting Metro Man into death traps, but I don't think you were ever expecting them to work."
"It certainly caught me off guard," Megamind agreed.
"Right," Bob agreed, "And you never killed anyone before that."
"Oh, of course not," Megamind replied, clearly repulsed by the idea, "I've done my fair share of crimes. I've caused millions of dollars in damages and kidnapped the woman who somehow became my girlfriend more times than I can count, but I draw the line at murder. That's why I got so angry with you today. Honestly, it tended to put me on the outs with the rest of the villain community."
"Really?" Bob asked in surprise, "But what about….uh what's his name? The guy with the nose."
"Gru?" Megamind provided with a chuckle, "Yes, we partnered up on capers every now and then."
"I know," Bob replied with a smirk of his own, "I usually helped Metro Man bring you two in."
"Right, of course," Megamind agreed with a smile and a nod, "But you have to remember, Gru isn't a killer either. More of a thief. He was always after the biggest score, more out of pride than greed."
"Right, right," Bob said, nodding his head in understanding before something seemed to occur to him, "Hey, is it true that he stole the moon?"
"For a little while, from what I've heard," Megamind confirmed with a nod of his own, "Which is certainly more than most people could say."
"What's he doing now days?" Bob asked.
"I don't know," Megamind admitted with a shrug, "We kind of fell out of contact after my hero turn."
"That makes sense," Bob concluded with a nod, "I wonder what he's up to."
"Knowing Gru, he's got his eye on some treasure or other," Megamind guessed, chuckling as he looked out at the horizon.
Later,
The world had become a madhouse of fire, screams and broken concrete. She cried out for her parents, but her voice was lost in the sound of buildings collapsing into the streets. Looking around, she couldn't see anything through the clouds of smoke and dust, illuminated by the hellish glow of unseen fires.
And then he was there.
A looming figure floating a foot or so off the ground, all she could make out of him through the smoke was his bulky build and the trailing cape he wore.
And his burning red eyes that seemed to glare into her soul.
Letting out a gasp, the girl, no more than twelve, sat bolt upright in her bed, her brown eyes wide and her brunette hair matted with sweat. Looking around, she took a few gasping breaths as the last images of the nightmare faded.
The room was dark, dulling the normally bright yellow wallpaper and magenta drapes. Shelves lined the room, and a computer sat on a desk in the corner. Glancing around, she looked at the other occupants of the room, two girls both younger than her, and was relieved to see they were both still asleep. Fishing under her pillow, she pulled out a pair of glasses, put them on, and pulled herself out of her bed, which looked strangely like a hollowed out bomb, before exiting the room through a white door.
Making her way down the hall, the girl entered a bathroom and flicked the light on, looking at herself in the mirror hanging above the sink. Her reflection was of a Caucasian brunette with hair hanging down to her shoulders and eyes framed by thin, black glasses. She was skinny for her age, and was currently dressed in an oversized, olive green t-shirt. Removing her glasses, her reflection turned blurry as she reached down and turned on the faucet before cupping some water and splashing it on her face.
"Margo?" a male voice with a thick, Eastern European accent suddenly said from the doorway, "Are you okay?"
Gasping in surprise, the girl quickly wiped her face with the nearby hand towel and put her glasses back on before turning to look at the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in black pants and a black jacket. He had a Caucasian complexion with blue eyes, a bald head and a prominent, pointed nose. He was currently looking at her with an expression of concern.
"Yeah, I-I'm fine, Gru," the girl, Margo, stuttered, "Just….Just had a bad dream, is all."
"Do….Do you want to talk about eet?" the man, Gru, asked with uncertainty.
"...Not really," Margo admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed.
A sympathetic expression on his face, Gru crouched down so that he was level with Margo.
"Do you want a hug?" Gru suggested as he held his arms open to her.
A small smile spreading across her face, Margo stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Gru, who did the same as she buried her face in his shoulder. As Margo held him tightly though, a worried look spread across Gru's features.
A/N: Alright, this is another scene I've been wanting to do for awhile now. I liked how it came out, hope you guys enjoyed it too! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!