Chapter 23: Settling In
"So, I'm already kind of used to the whole secret underground base thing after moving in with Gru," Edith said as she, Margo and Agnes followed Tip and Riley through the halls of Home Base, "But I've got to admit, hollowing out an entire mountain is pretty cool."
"Concrete's a bit of a substandard building material," Dr. Nefario commented as he followed along behind them, examining the wall as he went, "Won't stand up to weapon's grade plasma fire. But that's government work for you."
"Is it alright to have him wandering around like this?" Tip whispered as she glanced at Nefario uncertainly, "I mean, didn't he use to be a supervillain too?"
"Dr. Nefario is harmless," Margo replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "He can barely hear people standing directly in front of him and he's at an age where he's not capable of running, let alone causing any kind of mayhem. I think Gru just wanted to have him here to keep an eye on us."
"Why does Gru keep him around then?" Riley questioned with a quirked eyebrow.
"He's kind of a genius," Edith explained, "He builds all kinds of cool gadgets for Gru to use."
"Well, it doesn't seem like he could get into much trouble," Riley said with an uncertain tone.
As the girls spoke, Violet came walking around one of the corners, chatting with Mirage as she went.
"So, do you know anything about this Gru guy?" Violet asked as they walked.
"Not much," Mirage admitted with a shake of her head, "I didn't have much reason to interact with him during my time in the villain game."
"Hey!" Riley called, catching Mirage and Violet's attentions, "Violet!"
"Oh hey, Riley," Violet greeted with a smile before she arched her eyebrow at the younger girl, "Who are your friends?"
"These are the girls that Gru adopted," Riley explained as she gestured at the trio of sisters, "This is Margo, Edith and Agnes. They're going to be staying with us while Gru is undercover."
"It's nice to meet you," Violet replied as she gave the sisters a friendly smile, "I'm Violet, by the way."
"Are you a superhero too?" Agnes asked, her eyes wide as she looked up at Violet.
"Maybe," Violet replied with a shrug before she smirked and winked at Agnes, causing the girl to giggle in reply.
"What about you?" Edith inquired as she nodded towards Mirage.
"I'm just an agent," she answered with a smile and a shake of her head before she turned her attention towards Dr. Nefario, "Is this your grandfather?"
"No, this is Dr. Nefario," Agnes answered as she pointed at the old man in question, "He's a mad scientist."
"I would have you know I am a great scientist!" Nefario replied argumentatively, not noticing Violet and Mirage's eyes go wide in shock.
"No, Dr. Nefario," Margo said with a sigh as she raised her voice while turning to face the old man, "She said mad scientist. Mad."
"Oh," Nefario replied awkwardly, "I suppose that's more up for debate."
As they spoke, Riley couldn't help but notice the stricken expression Mirage was wearing and the concerned face that Violet was looking at her with.
"Are you alright, miss?" Nefario questioned, causing Mirage to blink in surprise, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Um, I'm….I'm fine," Mirage replied as she quickly composed herself.
"Hey, I know you, don't I?" Nefario asked as he pointed a finger at Mirage.
"I….uh…." Mirage mumbled, her eyes going wide again.
"That's right, you used to work with Syndrome!" Nefario continued as he snapped his fingers in triumph, "These AVL goons managed to rope you into working for them too, huh?"
"Uh, yes, something like that," Mirage answered, blinking in surprise.
"It's a rough time to be a villain, I'll tell you," Nefario said with a sad shake of his head, "Back in my day-"
"Please, Joseph," a new voice said, "I don't think these young ladies want to hear about the old days."
Looking toward the voice, the group found Stan walking down the hall towards them.
"Is that you, Stanley?" Nefario asked as he looked at Stan in shock before a smile spread across the old man's face, "Look at you! And here I would have thought you'd be six feet under by now!"
To everyone's surprise, Nerfario then walked up to Stan and vigorously shook the other man's hand.
"Still kicking, just like you, Joseph," Stan replied with a wry grin, "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"Too long if you ask me," Nefario answered with a chuckle, "Why, the last time I remember seeing you was not long after my, er, career change."
There was an awkward pause as a look of chagrin passed over Nefario's features.
"I hope there's not any hard feelings about that still?" Nefario asked hopefully.
"Of course not," Stan replied, and though he smiled, Riley sensed a wave of sadness seep out from the old man, "I'll always be….a bit disappointed by your choice, Joseph, but that doesn't mean I don't understand why you did it."
"Ha, I knew it!" Nefario laughed as he beamed at Stan, "I always knew you'd get it, Stanley! After all, you're a family man yourself."
"Indeed, I am," Stan agreed with a nod before he turned his gaze towards the group of girls, "Speaking of which, I think you have a tour to finish with these girls of yours."
"Er, right," Nefario confirmed as he looked back at the girls, who were all looking at him with confused expressions, "I suppose we'll have to catch up another time."
"Don't worry," Stan reassured him with a friendly smile, "I know where to find you."
"Looking forward to it," Nefario replied with a grin before he turned his attention back to the girls and began beckoning them on, "Come on, girls. Who knows how much of this so-called base we have left to see."
Nodding in return, the girls began walking down the hall with Riley and Tip in the lead. As they went, Riley looked back over her shoulder and shot Violet a questioning look, to which she replied by mouthing "Later."
As the group left, Mirage stood staring after them for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Violet questioned as she looked at Mirage with concern.
"...I think so," Mirage replied after a moment, still looking in the direction Dr. Nefario and the others had gone in, "I read the report and knew he would be here but still…."
"It's hard to be prepared to confront your past like that," Stan finished with a nod of understanding.
"He didn't seem to recognize you," Violet observed as she looked at Stan, "I mean, not really."
"Say what you will about secret identities, but they have their advantages," Stan replied with a sigh.
"So how does he know you?" Mirage questioned as she turned to look at Stan as well.
"He worked for me, once upon a time," Stan explained, a distant look in his eye as he spoke, "But then he suffered a tragedy and….everything changed."
"Tragedy can do that to you," Mirage stated quietly.
"I suppose you would know all about that, Ms. Li," Stan commented as he turned to look at Mirage.
"You….know my name?" Mirage asked, shocked.
"Of course," Stan replied with a nonchalant shrug, "I'm sure Joseph was too preoccupied with his own rage back then to notice most people. But I've always made it a point to remember everyone."
"What do you mean by "everyone?"" Violet questioned as her brow furrowed.
"Everyone I've ever failed," Stan answered as he looked meaningfully at Mirage, "It's especially easy to do if I've failed them more than once."
A long silent moment passed between the three of them as Mirage looked at Stan with wide eyes. Then, once the moment had passed, Stan cleared his throat and turned away from Mirage.
"I should be going," Stan said as he began walking away, "I'm sure you ladies have important work to do."
With that, Stan left, leaving Violet and Mirage to watch him go.
"Mirage?" Violet said as she looked at the older woman in confusion, "What did he mean when he implied he's failed you more than once?"
"I….I don't know," Mirage replied, looking as lost as Violet was.
Later,
"And this is one of the labs that they've set aside for the more sciency members of the team," Riley explained as she led the girls and Dr. Nefario through a doorway.
"Oh, Riley, hey!" Hiro greeted with a broad smile, looking up from a workbench where he had been working on repairing some equipment.
"Hey, Hiro," Riley replied with a grin, hugging the boy as he came over to greet her.
"How are you feeling today?" Hiro questioned as he looked Riley over.
"Better," Riley answered with a shrug before indicating to the others, "Tip and I were just showing our newest arrivals around."
"Oh, right," Hiro said, a look of realization passing over his features as he turned his attention towards the three girls, "You must be the ones that got adopted by the supervillain guy they got to go undercover in the Syndicate."
"That would be us," Margo confirmed with a nod as she reached out and shook Hiro's hand, "It's nice to meet you, Hiro. I'm Margo, and these are my sisters, Edith and Agnes."
"So, you're the guy who builds all the cool gadgets and stuff?" Edith inquired, crossing her arms over her chest as she studied Hiro.
"Uh, yeah, I suppose I am," Hiro answered with a grin and a shrug.
"Riley also told us you're her boyfriend," Agnes added innocently.
"Um, yeah" Hiro replied awkwardly, his face heating up as Riley tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and Tip snorted in amusement, "I suppose I am."
"Anyway, I guess I should also introduce you to-" Margo began to say.
"Dr. Nefario!" Megamind suddenly declared as he appeared from behind a large piece of machinery while throwing his hands into the air in excitement.
"There you are!" Nefario said with a laugh, "You slinked away before I had a chance to talk with you back at the house,"
"Sorry, duty called," Megamind replied with a helpless shrug as he walked up to Nefario, "It's good to see you again, my friend."
"Aye, it's been awhile," Nefario agreed as he shook Megamind's hand vigorously before his gaze turned towards Hiro, "Wait, I think I know who you are."
"You do?" Hiro asked in surprise.
"Indeed, I read that report the AVL gave us, you're the new Excelsior," Nefario stated with a wry grin before he pantomimed a boxing stance, "You know, the original and I used to throw down back in the day."
"I, uh, hope that doesn't mean you want to fight me," Hiro replied, his face paling slightly as he looked at the old man.
"Oh, no," Nefario replied with a snort as he waved one hand dismissively at Hiro while he placed the other on the small of his back, "I'm far too old for that sort of thing. Would have thrashed you in my prime, though."
"I'm uh, sure you would have," Hiro replied with an awkward smile.
"So, what are you guys working on in here?" Edith questioned as she looked around the laboratory.
"Well, I'm mostly working on upgrading some of my equipment," Hiro explained as he motioned to the workbench he had been sitting at when the group had come in, on which was one of his gauntlets was sitting in a partially disassembled state, "We're going to need some upgrades if we want to take down the Syndicate next time."
"Have you figured out yet how Enigma was able to copy our tech?" Riley inquired as she walked over to the workbench.
"Not exactly," Hiro replied with a shake of his head as he sighed, "Honestly, my best guess is that the Syndicate was observing us while we were doing superheroics around the city. From there, it wouldn't surprise me if Enigma was smart enough to reverse engineer our equipment from what he saw."
"You really think he's that smart?" Tip questioned as she walked over to the bench.
"Part of me thinks he's the smartest person I've ever met," Hiro mumbled, "And that terrifies me."
As Hiro fell silent, Riley looked at him with an expression of concern.
"So, that's why we have to be better prepared for the next time," Hiro replied as he shook his head clear and turned his attention back to his gauntlet, "Which is why I've been making some adjustments to some of the equipment that…."
Hiro trailed off as Nefario walked over with the rest of the girls.
"...that the first Excelsior gave me," Hiro finished awkwardly.
Slipping one of the oversized gauntlets on, Hiro held it up near his face before forming a fist. As he did, blue sparks of electricity began crackling across the surface of the gauntlet.
"Figured out a way to use the taser darts to electrify the entire gauntlet," Hiro explained as he flexed the gauntlet, watching as the electricity arched between his fingers, "So, hopefully, that will catch Enigma by surprise the next time we run into him."
"You know, with a few adjustments, you get the power in that up to a point where it could stop this Enigma's heart," Nefario piped up.
At this, all the children turned to look at Nefario with various levels of incongruity. Looking back at the children, an expression of realization passed over Nefario's wrinkled visage.
"Oh," he mumbled, "But I imagine that's not something you're after."
As Hiro shook his head in reply, Edith took another look around the laboratory.
"So, what are you working on, blue guy?" Edith asked as she turned her attention towards Megamind.
"I've mostly been settling in to this new space," Megamind explained, "Making some upgrades to my equipment and Minion's armor."
"You have Minions too?" Agnes questioned in surprise.
"Oh, uh, not like Gru's Minions, no," Megamind replied, chuckling as he shook his head, "Though I can understand your confusion."
At that moment, Minion came wandering into view from behind the same piece of equipment that Megamind had emerged from, carrying some mechanical components.
"Sir, where would you like me to-" Minion began to say before he noticed the group looking at him, "Oh, hello."
"Ah, there you are, Minion," Megamind said with a broad smile as he gestured for the alien to come over, "We were just talking about you."
"Are you….a fish in a robotic gorilla suit?" Edith questioned as the three sisters stared at Minion with various levels of bafflement.
"An alien fish in a robotic gorilla suit," Minion corrected with a broad grin.
"That's….awesome!" Edith exclaimed as a broad grin broke across her face, "Do you have like, super strength or something?"
"Well, the suit does provide me with lifting strength above that of a normal person," Minion replied as he flexed one of his robotic arms before he patted his chest, "It's also quite durable."
"That's so cool," Edith whispered in awe.
"Was it ever confusing working with the Minions?" Tip inquired as she tilted her head to the side, "Since your name is, you know, Minion."
"Not really," Minion replied with a shrug, "All the Minions have individual names, so it was pretty easy to know who was talking to who. Speaking of which, how's Kevin doing? Been awhile since I got to talk to him."
"He's doing alright," Agnes replied, "Same old, same old."
As the others talked, Margo looked around the room, taking in the sight of the advanced scientific equipment that surrounded her. Eventually, her eyes fell on something and her brow furrowed in confusion. Breaking away from the group, Margo walked across the lab until she stood in front of a square, glass case with an electronic lock sitting on a workbench. Inside was what looked like a large gun, or at least Margo thought it was a gun, as it resembled a cross between a futuristic assault rifle and a syringe. The glass barrel of the gun was completely full of a golden liquid that seemed to glow with a light of its own.
"Something catch your eye?" Megamind inquired as he walked up behind Margo.
Jumping in surprise, Margo spun around and looked at Megamind with wide eyes. The reaction caused Megamind to flinch as well, before a look of remorse came over his features.
"I'm sorry," Megamind apologized before he took a hesitant step away from Margo, "I should probably let you be."
"No, it's okay," Margo replied with a shake of her head, "You just….surprised me, is all."
An awkward moment passed as Margo and Megamind fell silent while looking away from one another.
"So, what is that thing?" Margo inquired as she looked back at the strange gun.
"The Defuser Gun," Megamind answered as he looked at the weapon wearily.
"Why is it locked in that box?" Margo asked as she looked up at Megamind with a questioning expression.
"Too keep it from falling into the wrong hands," Megamind replied solemnly, "It might not look like it, but that's the most dangerous weapon in my arsenal."
"Why's that?" Margo inquired.
"Because contained in the barrel is Metro Man's DNA," Megamind explained as he pointed a finger at the part of the gun in question, "It's with this that…."
"You made Titan," Margo finished, her eyes going wide in realization.
"Now, you understand why it frightens me, so much," Megamind confirmed with a nod, "And why it needs to stay locked up."
"Why not hide it away then?" Margo inquired, her expression confused, "Why leave it out where you can see it?"
Megamind said nothing for a moment, his gaze locked on the Defuser Gun.
"So I can remember the cost of my arrogance," Megamind mumbled once the moment had passed.
Margo looked at Megamind with wide eyes at this, a number of conflicting emotions swirling in her chest.
"Hey, Margo!" Riley called from across the room, bringing the girl's attention back to reality.
Looking over, Margo found the group of kids standing on the other side of the lab, looking at her expectantly.
"We're going to go grab some food," Riley continued once she saw she had caught the other girl's attention, gesturing for Margo to join them, "Come on."
"R-Right," Margo agreed with a nod before she looked hesitantly up at Megamind, "It was….nice talking to you."
Megamind blinked in surprise at this before smirking and nodding in reply. Turning away from Megamind, Margo began to make her way across the lab before pausing as she noticed Dr. Nefario looking over some items on one of the workbenches.
"Did you want to come with us to get something to eat, Dr. Nefario?" Margo asked as she pointed towards the door leading out of the room.
"Nah, you go ahead," Nefario replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "There are a few things I wanted to look at here."
Noticing Margo hesitate, Nefario let out a tired sigh.
"I'll be fine," Nefario replied as he fully turned to face her, "Go run off with your little friends or whatever it is you want to do."
Smiling in reply, Margo nodded before jogging over to the group of other children, joining them as they left the room. Nefario watched them go before turning his attention back to the workbench.
"You think it's a good idea to let them wander off on their own like that?" Megamind inquired as he looked towards the door the children had left through.
"We're in a building full of superheroes, for God's sake," Nefario answered with a dismissive snort, "They don't need me to babysit them."
"Even if that's what Gru asked you to do?" Megamind countered with a crooked eyebrow.
"Gru's too busy with other things to worry about what I'm doing," Nefario replied, chuckling as he picked up a device and began looking it over.
"Where is Gru anyway?" Megamind inquired.
"Probably with some of your hero friends, figuring out exactly how they're going to get him killed with this undercover business," Nefario answered grimly.
Meanwhile,
In the large, central meeting room, Gru sat alone on one side of the long table, while Director Rambottom, General Monger, Agent Dicker and Lucy sat on the other. Drumming his fingers nervously on the table as his eyes darted between the people sitting across from him, Gru cleared his throat.
"So," Gru spoke up awkwardly, "Is this the part where you tell me what it is you want me to do?"
"Well, as you already discussed with Agent Wilde," Dicker said as he nodded towards Lucy, "We need someone to infiltrate the Syndicate for us."
"Right, okay," Gru replied with a nod, his expression uncertain, "And, uh, then what?"
"Then you gather intel for us," Monger explained, "What their plans are, where their base of operations is, and how many more of them there are."
"And how exactly will I be relaying this information to you?" Gru inquired as he quirked his eyebrow at the general, "This Syndicate is not going to trust me right as I walk through the door after all. They'll probably notice if I try to make a phone call to the AVL."
"It wouldn't be something as obvious as that," Ramsbottom countered with a sigh, "We know how to do things subtly. The AVL has been playing this game for quite awhile now."
"Then why do you keep losing?" Gru commented with a laugh before his smile quickly disappeared as he noticed Ramsbottom and Monger glaring at him, "But uh, right, gather information. Got it."
"Yes," Dicker continued with a nod, "Once you and your partner have gathered enough information, we'll extract you and bring the hammer down on the Syndicate."
"I'm sorry, but what was that last bit?" Gru spoke up as he looked at Dicker in confusion, "Partner?"
"Oh yeah, that would be me," Lucy spoke up while giving a mocking wave towards Gru, "How's it going?"
"I don't understand," Gru replied, his expression still baffled, "The whole point of sending me in undercover was because the Syndicate wouldn't suspect me. I think they might get suspicious if I bring in her."
"Well, obviously I'm not going to go in as "Lucy Wilde, Agent of the AVL,"" Lucy countered with an annoyed roll of her eyes, "And we'll use your credibility in the villain community to deflect any suspicion."
"I think you might be overestimating my credibility," Gru replied with a nervous expression, "It seems like a risk to take you with me."
"Well, the fact of the matter is, Mr. Gru," Ramsbottom spoke up, his tone turning awkward, "How do I put this delicately?"
"We trust you about as far as Ramsbottom here can throw you," Monger spoke up as he glared at Gru.
"Yes, well, I suppose that sums it up quite nicely," Ramsbottom agreed even as he shot an annoyed look at the general, "We need someone on this that we know we can trust."
"I'm not sure how much your trust is going to do us if it gets her killed," Gru retorted as he let out a snort of contempt.
"There are always risks with these sorts of situations," Monger countered, "Agent Wilde understands what she's walking into."
"Don't worry, sir," Lucy replied as she looked at Gru with a smug smirk, "I'm sure I can keep Gru from getting the both of us killed."
"Now, Mr. Gru," Ramsbottom said, bringing the man's attention back to him, "We did bring you in partially because of your knowledge of the villain community. So, we were curious to know how you would propose making contact with the Syndicate?"
Gru was quiet for a moment as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Do you know where the Syndicate is getting their money from?" Gru inquired, "Villains don't usually do things like this out of the goodness of their hearts, after all."
"We don't currently know where they're getting their funding from, no," Dicker admitted with a shake of his head.
"Well, I have an idea, and it might be our way into the Syndicate," Gru explained as his expression turned nervous, "And it might also be the most dangerous part of going undercover."
A/N: Moving the plot along with a few more bits of character interaction! Hope you all liked reading it as much as I liked writing it! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!