Disclaimer: "Megamind" is owned by Dreamworks. I am not profiting from this fanfiction.
Syphon
Part II
Roxanne could hardly believe what was going on. She was falling - likely to her death - off the same Metro tower that had once almost killed her. If she survived this (which she doubted), she was never coming back here again.
She'd only come here in the first place because she was worried. Yeah, Megamind had annoyed her earlier with his "how dangerous could that be?" comment. And yeah, a part of her wanted to see him fall at the hands of a woman just to prove her point. But when she'd learned that nothing seemed to be happening, she'd had Minion bring her rocketbike and rode it up to the top. Her instincts had been screaming at her to interject.
And her intuition had been correct. Her heart had nearly stopped to find him lying there, deadened. Only the fact that his eyes were open and moving had calmed her down.
As for Syphon - ohh, she hated the villainess already. That evil, lying - villain!
"Do you want him fixed or not?" her mind mocked. Of course she had. But Syphon's solution had involved making him have a seizure.
It was entirely reflex to call the other woman a few scathing titles and try to shove her away from Megamind; whatever she'd done, Syphon had been hurting him. And Roxanne wouldn't stand for that.
But of course Syphon had to decide that Roxanne needed a good shove too. So, at the prospect of falling off a skyscraper, she'd screamed and grabbed what she could: Syphon's clothes at her chest. The two had begun struggling; Roxanne to keep her grip, Syphon to keep her footing. And now they were falling.
Worst of all, while screaming, she glanced over to find Syphon looked careless. She was falling just as fast as Roxanne, with death imminent, and she couldn't even flinch?
"What is wrong with you?" Roxanne gasped out, shock battling the terror in her.
Syphon cast her a bored look. "This won't kill me, birdie."
Birdie. Roxanne growled, anger heating her. "Oh yeah, explain to me how!" she shouted back.
Syphon flipped in midair, rolling her eyes. "No fall can harm me."
Wait. Meaning she could land on her feet and be fine? Even now? They must be at terminal velocity!
Roxanne cast her eyes to the sky - oh, it was nighttime now, the sun fully set - but didn't see a glimpse of Megamind or brain bots or rocketbikes. Biting her lip, she tried not to look down as she threw her weight and collided with Syphon, gripping her tightly.
"What the -" Syphon gasped.
Good. A reaction. Finally. "You can take any landing and not die? I wonder if that works out when there's another person on your back."
Syphon's wide-eyed shock told her everything she needed to know.
"Will the fall kill you now?" she taunted.
Syphon hissed, then spun. "Release me!"
"I don't think so! If I'm going to die, so are you!"
"ARGH!"
"Ground's coming up fast," Roxanne hinted, able to see it from her angle. She had to swallow at how rapidly it approached. "Better make your decision!" Her voice, though forceful, wavered.
With a clear sound of hatred, Syphon seized her, hugging her to her chest. Then she went about a series of twists, throwing her weight. In the midst of the spinning, Roxanne spotted - what she thought was Megamind on a rocketbike, diving towards them.
Syphon neared the building, then planted her feet and shoved off hard with a grunt. Their fall speed broke, and then they were shooting out. Roxanne watched with increasing horror. Syphon's back was arched, head far back, watching the ground approach in a slow backflip. But from Roxanne's point of view, they were still dead.
Then, when they were so close Roxanne was holding her breath, Syphon flipped around and around, twisting, until with a thud, her arms clenched painfully and all the rushing. . .stopped.
Roxanne stared in complete stun. Police were all around them, guns trained on Syphon, ordering her to let the hostage go in halting, stunned speech. Syphon still held Roxanne to her, half-crouched on her toes. Her disdainful expression said everything as she glared down at Roxanne, then casually dropped her to the side.
"Ow!" she hissed.
Syphon threw her an unconcerned glare. An oxymoron in the flesh. She stood to her full height, pride in every inch of her stance. Her thin stilettos hadn't even snapped off!
"Roxanne!"
Her chin shot up, catching sight of Megamind. He was close. Relief made her sag. He was all right - and so was she. Though she'd forced Syphon into saving her, she felt the need to thank the other woman. Surely a woman like her, who'd gone the extra distance and made sure Roxanne hadn't even been hurt in the fall, wasn't all bad? Villainess or not, she'd still helped Roxanne.
"Megamind!" Roxanne called back, unwilling to take her eyes from Syphon for long.
And there she stood, stoic, watching as officers approached her with tentative steps. A few were brandishing handcuffs, the rest still aiming with firearms. Syphon still looked bored, as if this had happened dozens of times before and knew the dance.
Roxanne jumped to her feet when Megamind landed, her breath catching when his attempt at dismounting ended in a flop to the pavement, his cape fluttering the way down. She hurried over and helped him up. He winced when she touched him. Which meant he was in pain. Which meant whatever Syphon had done had lingering effects.
Roxanne's hatred of the other woman rekindled.
"Hands up!" someone ordered.
Syphon's face was hidden from this angle, but Roxanne could tell what was going on when the policemen backed away. Syphon must be glaring.
And then laughter sounded from the other woman. The sound was so welcome to Roxanne's ears she wanted to thank the villain for the gift. Which was a ridiculous notion to have, she reminded herself. Under her arm, Megamind seemed to slump more, so she tightened her grip.
Syphon was speaking now. "Come now, boys. Are you sure you want to shoot me?" Her tone was suggestive, making Roxanne narrow her eyes. No way was she manipulating the police force like this. "Wouldn't you rather just have a chat with me? I could sing for you," she suggested.
Tension shot through Roxanne at the phrase. Sing, as she'd done for Megamind? She could imagine everyone present lying on the ground, too weak to move, while Syphon casually walked away.
"Don't listen to her!" Roxanne snapped. "If you have ear plugs, use them! Don't let your guard down!"
Megamind mumbled something she couldn't understand, but it sounded urgent. He turned his head enough to give her an anguished yet determined look. Slowly, he mouthed dee-hy-dray-shun.
His gun? Without hesitating, she palmed the gun and held it ready, though she almost dropped him when she maneuvered to seize it.
Syphon tossed her an annoyed look, then settled her gaze on Megamind. She smirked at Roxanne, her expression saying look what I did.
Roxanne grit her teeth, returning the look with a scowl.
Then Syphon spun around and approached the pair. And though Roxanne aimed the gun - left-handed - at her, Syphon paid no heed. She stopped a few feet apart and planted her clawed hands on her hips. Her eyes went between the duo, face to face, before hardening her gaze on Megamind.
"I'm surprised at you," she admitted, sounding angry at that. "I expected you to have. . .mesmerized this birdie. But she really is willing. I wonder how that happened?"
Roxanne hissed, shocking herself. She snapped, "I'm not a birdie! Now what is this about being willing? Why do you keep saying that?"
Syphon bared her teeth as though the memory that surfaced was unpleasant. She met Roxanne's gaze. "Humans confound me. Look at you," she added, gesturing Roxanne. "You're hardly an impressive sort. I can see your fear, your uncertainty. You know you couldn't beat me in any kind of battle. Yet there you stand, hands steady, ready to take me on anyway. That kind of determination. . ."
Her tone faded to wistful, eyes darkening as if looking somewhere far away, somewhere serene. Her eyes refocused on Megamind with a scowl. "That must be why you like her so much, isn't it? That strength in her stance. The willingness to go in spite of sure failure." Just like you. The words were unsaid, but audible nonetheless.
"I won't fail," Roxanne growled, training the gun on her again. Left-handed, her mind repeated, but she shoved the thought away. She only needed to hit her once. She squeezed the trigger.
Syphon twisted around and the blast missed, striking a police car. It shimmered green before shrinking into a cube. Then, as Roxanne aimed for another shot, Syphon darted forward. Though a second blast got off, Syphon dodged again, swiping the gun from her hand. As she hissed in pain, Megamind struggled to right himself, and Syphon grabbed Roxanne by the neck. She pulled her fist back.
Those plated metal knuckles made Roxanne pale, eyes widening. She had no time to tense before that fist collided with her face, throwing her back. Megamind collapsed and Roxanne yelped. Her face felt as though it'd been torn apart.
Syphon was on her again before she could even catch her breath for a pained scream. She was lifted by her shirt, until she met Syphon's cold yellow gaze.
But though she flinched, expecting another hit, Syphon's hand didn't raise.
Instead, she said, "I like you, birdie. Taking the initiative like you did, making me choose to save us both rather than just myself. And by the way, with you on my back, I still wouldn't have died. But shooting at me is something I can't forgive."
"What are you going to do?" Roxanne taunted from behind grit teeth. "Hurt me like you hurt him?" she said with a jerk of her head towards where Megamind was floundering for his gun. Reach it, reach it! she urged.
"Oh no, little birdie. Hurting you would only mildly upset him." At her words, Roxanne's eyes widened. She wanted to hurt Megamind? "You're tough like that. No, I do believe I'll knock you out cold. How would you enjoy being in a coma?" She smirked, a cruel twist of her lips.
Roxanne's mind seized on her words, yet couldn't comprehend them. Her blood seemed to freeze. This villain. . .Syphon would kill her. Very few supervillains were actually willing to do so. All Megamind had ever done was threaten her and knock her out with sprays - sprays that never even had an aftereffect. The few villains that had popped up since then only ever used her as bait. But Syphon. . .
Distract her. Buy time. With a furtive glance over Megamind - he got it! - she bit out, "Oh yeah? Well, if I'm going to be out cold during your murderous rampage, maybe you could answer a question first. One I'm sure everyone here wants to know." Which reminded her - why weren't the police shooting?
A glance at them divulged the answer. There were all smiling at Syphon, eyes glazed, as if love-stricken. Even the women.
Syphon quirked a brow in question.
Perfect! Roxanne knew villains, all right. How they loved to gloat.
"Why do you call yourself Syphon when your power is your voice?"
"My voice is only one power, birdie," Syphon cooed. Oh, but her words were lulling. Roxanne relaxed despite herself. "My big power is - wait for it - the ability to siphon the power of others. From things like energy to memories to super powers to Megamind's intellect," she finished with an inclination of her head in his direction.
Roxanne took the motion as an excuse to glance at him, seeing he was back on his feet, gun in his limp arm, glaring at Syphon. You can do this!
"His intellect?" Roxanne repeated through grit teeth. "You siphoned his brain?" she yelled. Indignant wasn't strong enough a word to describe the fury coursing through her.
Syphon merely smirked in answer. "And. . .memories. Things like how he felt that day you left him in the rain. Cold-hearted of you, birdie, I must say."
A wince marred Roxanne's resolve. She regretted hurting him like that - but in her defense, he'd hurt her too. At the time, she was doing nothing more than returning the favor.
All at once, Syphon glimmered green and then shrunk into a cube. Roxanne was dropped gracelessly on her backside. Her eyes sought out Megamind first thing - he was wobbling, but though he was in obvious pain and tired, his expression was of triumph.
She hurried over to help him stay upright, and the way he looked at her made her heart skip a beat. It was a consuming look, with not a little relief tied in. He must have been really worried about her. Well, in truth, so had she. But she'd been more afraid of what Syphon's powers had done to him.
She hadn't had enough time to question Syphon more thoroughly. Would her siphoning come back with time? Would Megamind recover? What about the stunned policemen; would they recover?
"Grab the cube," Megamind forced out, his voice rough.
She gave a nod and darted over to snatch it up, stuffing it in her pocket. Turning back around, she was about to suggest heading to the police station, but the words died when she saw he was back on his knees, head bowed.
"Oh, that - villain!" she hissed, crouching before him. She lifted his chin. "How do you feel?"
He shook his head. "Terrible. But. . .in a bad way."
She didn't bother pointing out the double negative. She just stroked her thumb along his jaw. "Okay. Let's get you back to the secret lair." She helped him up, though he groaned the whole way. Lifting up his arm so she could talk into the watch, she said, "Minion, we need you."
Minion had arrived by the time she got Megamind back on his rocketbike. To Minion, she said, "Take him back home. I'll be there as soon as I get Syphon," she hissed the name, "to the prison."
"Who?" Minion checked.
Roxanne pulled the cube from her pocket.
"Oohhhhh."
"Drop it!"
They all glanced over at an officer - who seemed to be over his lovesickness, yet he was aiming his gun at Roxanne. Her heart sped up in fear, though she still managed to say, "What the. . ."
"Don't aim that at Roxanne!" Minion snapped. "Do you have any idea -"
A gunshot sounded. They all flinched reflexively, causing Roxanne to drop the cube. As she stumbled to dart behind Minion - and his entirely metal body - she saw the cube skittering. Another policeman seemed to snap out of it, sprinting for it.
At once, she felt relief. An officer was going to grab the Syphon-cube and -
Dread settled in when she saw him pull out a bottle of water.
"No," she gasped. No way. Syphon's weird voice powers extended this far? To where the police would do anything to get her back? Even to undo the dehydration, though it had taken so much work to catch her?
As the water poured, the answer became clear. They knew what it meant to pour water on any of the dehydration cubes - one of them had already rehydrated the police car.
Syphon was reformed in a split second, and she glanced around in stun. Which made sense; those dehydrated had no memory of the time they spent as a cube. Other than a slight dizziness, only the awareness that everything had changed would tip them off.
Syphon spun, spotted them, and glared. Then she stepped back, and the officer who'd hydrated her made a kind of joyful squeal at her nearness, reaching out to hug her. She spared him no glance as she said, "Round one goes to you, Megamind. Let us see where round two takes us. Until next time?"
"Ohh, no," Roxanne bit out. "You're not going anywh -" Her words cut off on a gasp when a bullet whizzed by her, rebounding off Minion's shoulder. She clutched in closer to him.
"Syphon!" Megamind shouted. "Release these people!"
"Now why would I want to do that?" she cooed, reaching back to caress her claws along the man's face. His eyes fluttered in pleasure from that simple contact. "I like my toys."
"You will release them," Megamind bit out.
A cold shiver went through Roxanne, and she glanced back at him. He wasn't moving - hadn't reached for his gun. With everything Syphon had done to him, he must need rest more than he'd been letting on. With a stern look, she shook her head. He caught the motion, glancing back in disbelief.
She made an 'm' with her fingers over her chest, signaling she'd contact Metro Man. Though he still refused to take up being a hero again, he was helpful in other ways, including his willingness to use his super speed to dart to other locations on Earth, searching out information. She would visit him, ask him to look into Syphon, maybe follow her and find out what she was up to.
Megamind's eyes narrowed. He was always just a tad jealous when she sought out the ex-hero, even though there'd never been anything romantic between them, and there never would.
"Come now, Megamind," Syphon continued in that coo. Roxanne swayed. "You know how the game is played. This was a teaser of the true battle to come. By then, all of the people in this city will be mine. And rest assured that you won't escape either. You and your little birdie have been immune to my voice so far, but it won't last forever. Ciao!"
And with that, she spun, the officers flanking her, guns poised, as she strode away. Her gait took her down the center of the street as if she had nothing at all to fear from the vehicles still in motion. With the procession following at her heels, maybe she didn't.
Roxanne met eyes with Megamind, then turned her attention to Minion - who looked stunned, and a little happy.
"Minion!" she snapped, hitting the glass.
"Wha? What? Who?" He shook himself. "What just happened?"
She spared another glance to Megamind, who said, "We'll be needing sound dampeners to drown out her voice. Minion, you'll have to help me back to the fortress. Roxanne, don't be long. She doesn't like you, which means she'll be dangerous. I want you with me."
For your own protection, she finished for him.
"Brain bots!" she called as Minion jumped on the rocketbike and took off with Megamind. When seven bots appeared, she ordered them to retrieve her rocketbike from the top of the tower. As soon as it was on the ground with her, she said, "Follow me."
Metro Man would need the fair warning, if nothing else. If Syphon could steal powers - and her speech hinted that she often did - then he would need to know. He might be a target of Syphon just as much as Megamind and herself were.
That is, if Syphon ever found out about him.
She recalled Syphon's words about her sapping ability: "From things like energy to memories to super powers to Megamind's intellect," she'd said.
Roxanne's mind clung to that one word, memories. Syphon had already mentioned the night Roxanne dumped Megamind, and that'd been four months ago.
A daunting thought. What else could she know?
The questions kept running through Roxanne's mind as she piloted the rocketbike above the buildings and across the lake to the small red schoolhouse. She supposed she could've just texted Metro - er, Music Man, but long conversations and exchanges were best done in person. Cell phones could be traced, calls hacked, texts read.
And there was a lot to retell. Hopefully he was there.