The harsh beeping of Roxanne's alarm clock grew steadily louder, but despite its best efforts, it took a solid two minutes before it elicited anything more than a groan from Roxanne. She finally huffed from where her head was buried in her pillows and threw her covers off, immediately regretting her choice of a tank top and biking shorts for bed clothes. Shivering, she pulled herself up and fumbled her way over to her shrieking alarm clock that sat on her dresser.
"Take that," she mumbled sleepily, jabbing the snooze button. She turned and nearly tripped on the heels she'd worn on her date with Megamind the night before, but nothing could stop her from returning to her bed now. She had only been collapsed on the mattress for a few moments when the telltale crash of shattering glass rang out from somewhere beyond her bedroom door.
Roxanne's eyes flew open, and her thoughts flew to life with them. Who was in her apartment? Why were they there? What did they break? Who was in her apartment?
Alright, think, she demanded of herself. The crash wasn't large enough or long enough to suggest that it was her balcony door that broke. At least I have that going for me. Her brain worked on overdrive as she sat up and scanned her room, eventually landing on the baseball bat she kept by the door.
She sat herself upright and listened for another moment, rewarded only with silence. Sucking in a deep breath to calm herself, she swung her legs over the side of the bed as quietly as possible. She stood and began working her way towards the door; every footfall, heartbeat, and minute sound ringing in her ears while her mind cried too loud, too loud!
Roxanne picked up the wooden bat that rested next to her door with sweating hands. She cracked open the door just enough for her to see down the hallway, noting that the broken glass was past the hallway and to the right. So it had come from the kitchen, then. She clenched her eyes shut, gripped the bat tighter than before, and crept out into the hallway.
Seconds passed like hours as Roxanne focused on silently putting one foot in front of the other to make her way down the hall. Her arms already ached from being so tense while holding the bat above her head, ready to swing. Nervous sweat dripped down her nose as she heard a cabinet door slam shut, followed by a frustrated bowg.
Roxanne's brow furrowed. A Brain Bot? She lowered the bat and hurried towards the kitchen, feeling too stupid to remember there was broken glass on the floor. The hovering Brain Bot had just come into view when she stepped on a larger chunk of glass at just the wrong angle, lodging it in her flesh and immediately sending blood pooling on the floor.
Roxanne cried out in pain, dropped the bat, and effectively startled the Brain Bot into whizzing around and dropping the flowers it had been holding. It flew over to her, letting out a series of panicked bowgs.
"It's alright, I'm fine, I'm fine," She tried to console the Bot while wincing. It wasn't convinced. She looked around her kitchen and noticed that the open cabinet was the one that held her vases and other rarely used containers. Despite the pain and mild shock of the situation, she began to smile affectionately as her brain fully registered the flowers that the Brain Bot had brought to her for the first time. She saw now, as they were scattered on the floor amid the glass shards, that they were her favorite, vibrant combination: sunflowers and roses.
She turned her smile towards the frantic Brain Bot. "Thank you for bringing these to me," she said, still not calming it completely. "It's okay. About the glass I mean. It's not a big deal," She added. Even through it's mechanical features, Roxanne could see the lingering concern that so perfectly mirrored Megamind's own. Despite the fact that the Brain Bot's facial features were mainly comprised of their eye stalks, this one seemed to carry the same expression Megamind had when she was hurt. She didn't know how instilling that much of yourself into a robot was possible, but with Megamind, she didn't doubt it.
"Bring me a bar stool?" she requested. The Bot obeyed and brought one of the stools from the island close enough for her to sit. After taking a minute to get herself on the stool without the support of her right foot, she brought her foot up to her lap, trying to ignore the Brain Bot hovering over her head. She took a shaky breath and focused in on the piece of glass in her foot and not the blood around it. As steadily and as quietly as she could, she pulled it out of her foot. Immediately her shoulders relaxed despite the pounding pain in her foot, and the Brain Bot plucked the bloodied glass from her hand and hurried to pick up the others. Roxanne tried her best not to laugh as the Bot would add one shard of glass to its small hand and another would fall.
"I think the broom would work better," she called to the struggling Bot, which promptly dropped the little glass left in its hands and spun around to face her. Nodding her head to the left, she said, "It's in the closet over there."
The Brain Bot gave an appreciative bowg and flew off to the door Roxanne had indicated. She took a deep breath, and looked down the hallway. Her foot throbbed, insisting that the bathroom might as well have been miles away. But it didn't matter, she reminded herself. That's where all her medical supplies were, so that's where she was going. She lowered her feet onto the floor, watching vigilantly for pieces of glass, and hobbled her way out of the kitchen and down to the hallway. Her right foot stuck to the floor with every step. She finally reached the bathroom door, leaned on the doorknob, and allowed herself to stand mostly on her left foot, catching her breath.
"Bowg?" The Bot called from behind her in the kitchen. She turned her head to face it, hesitating instead of answering. Should she tell it that you don't hold a broom like a baby, or wear a dustpan on your head? She decided against it. It was smart; it would figure it out sooner or later. "I'm good." She answered. Satisfied, it tried to fly around the corner, forgetting that the broom was much wider than itself. The broom hit the wall with a loud crack and Roxanne couldn't help but laugh while the Bot scrambled to fix its mistake, sending the dustpan flying off its head in the process.
Eventually Roxanne made it into the bathroom, sitting on the closed toilet as soon as she could. Her foot still throbbed while she searched the cabinet over the toilet for the spool of bandages she kept. She vowed to herself to never bury them all the way in the back of the cabinet again as she felt her fingertips just brush the out-of-reach bandages. After fumbling around for another moment and being thankful that no one was there to witness her knock a pill bottle onto her head, she had the bandages in hand and turned her attention to her foot.
Roxanne grabbed some toilet paper and wiped away the excess blood from the sole of her foot, revealing a cut that was a whole lot smaller than it felt like it should be. She opened up a drawer in the vanity and pulled out some ointment cream. She dabbed some directly on the opening before wrapping the bandage around her foot, doing so a few extra times for good measure.
As a test, she stood up and tried to see how much weight she could now comfortable put on it. It wasn't much, but it was better than it had been.
She spent the next half hour trying to get ready for her day as normally as possible. A shower was out of the question thanks to her bandage, but she turned to her favorite dry shampoo brand to freshen up her hair instead. She buzzed through her best camera-ready 'natural' look (which she'd come to find was a huge contradiction - she must've used twenty products to achieve it) as quickly as she could, and cleaned up the bloody footprints on her white-tiled floor, hoping it hadn't yet sat long enough to stain. In her mind she planned out what she would wear, particularly on her feet. She remembered accidentally purchasing a pair of shoes that were a size too big during the frenzy of Black Friday; perhaps she could the right shoe of that pair and the left shoe of the matching replacement pair she grumpily bought when the clerk told her there were no exchanges or refunds for Black Friday purchases.
By the time she stepped out into the hallway, her limp had lessened significantly. She looked around for the Brain Bot, but instead of finding it, she noticed that the bloody footprints that she was expecting to have to clean up in the hallway were gone. She even smelled coffee. Mostly following the smell, she headed towards the kitchen and found the (slightly battered) sunflowers and roses in a tall, plastic cup with a note taped to it.
The writing on the note was large, untidy, and to Roxanne, incredibly impressive. She knew it had to be the Brain Bot's writing, but last time Megamind had talked about the Bots he said he was nowhere near that level of coordination. I'm sorry about your vase, it read.
Beyond the flowers Roxanne saw her coffee pot already filled with her favorite morning brew, and before she knew it she was pouring the contents into her travel mug. She almost dropped the pot, however, when she saw the clock. How was it seven forty-five?! She was due in at work in fifteen minutes for her first reports of the day, and she wasn't even dressed!
She hurriedly snapped the lid on her mug and abandoned it on the counter, hobbling as quickly as she could back to her bedroom. She pulled out her smart-looking black and white dress (mostly chosen so she wouldn't have to take the time to match two pieces of clothing together) and threw it on. She dug through her closet in a near-panic, finally coming up with the flats she needed. She took her time in slipping her shoe on the right foot, but quickly resumed scrambling around as soon as that was done. She ran as fast as she could manage into the kitchen and out the door, barely remembering to grab her coffee and her purse. Her communication watch that Megamind had given her, however, lay forgotten on her nightstand, despite her promise to him the night before to wear it.
Roxanne impatiently rode the elevator down to the first floor, mumbled a good morning to her doorman Carlos, and hurried out to the sidewalk where her bug was parked and waiting for her. She shoved the keys into the ignition and twisted them forward, but all she received in response was a feeble whine.
"You have got to be kidding me," she growled, trying again. The Volkswagen again whined for a moment, then fell silent.
Roxanne pressed her head against the back of her seat, gripping the steering wheel hard. She clamped her eyes shut and said to her car, "I'm giving you one last chance to stop me from hating you for the rest of my life," and twisted the keys again.
In return, the car didn't even bother whining at her. It just sat where it was parked on the curb, unmoving and uncaring.
Roxanne grit her teeth, fighting every urge in her body that was telling her to scream.
She eventually let out a long, low breath that she didn't know she had been holding. She ran her hand through her hair and began to laugh. It was a small, disbelieving laugh at first, but it soon grew loud and rather hysterical.
She stopped laughing as quickly as she had started. "This is just great," she grumbled, her anger rushing back to her with full force. She snatched her purse and her coffee mug from the seat beside her and the console respectively, and threw open the car door. "Today of all days," she continued, standing up awkwardly due to the pain in her right foot, "you're going to do this to me!" She slammed the car door forcefully, and very seriously considered kicking the car. Thinking of her foot and thus settling for sending it a killer glare, she set off down the sidewalk and began digging through her purse for her phone as she went.
She shivered as she pulled it out of the depths of her purse, rounding the first corner and regretting not taking the time to get her winter coat out of the closet. Roxanne struggled to focus both on her phone and the onslaught of people using the sidewalk; her apartment was just off a main downtown street, and right now seemed to be the middle of rush hour for pedestrians. She pulled up her boss' information as quickly as she could, stabbing the 'call' button as soon as she'd found it.
Roxanne hadn't even been holding the phone up to her ear for a full ring yet when Rob answered. He didn't waste a second to start interrogating her, either.
"Roxanne! Where are you? You're on in seven minutes!" Rob whisper-shouted into her ear.
"I know that, Rob. I'm sorry. But on top of other things my car won't start." Someone tapped Roxanne on the shoulder. Startled, she whirled around to find a person in a suit coat already holding a recording device in her face while a few others stared at them before continuing to walk on. Well aware of the press' persistence, she waved him off and hoped for the best while she turned her self back around and continued talking. "I'm walking in your direction now, and as soon as this phone call is over I'm calling someone to see if I can get a ride," she fought her voice to stay calm as her foot throbbed with every step she took.
Simultaneously, Rob posed another question, "And that's supposed to help me get the morning news report done how?", and the man in the suit coat caught up to Roxanne and stepped in front of her. Paying closer attention this time, Roxanne recognized him as Jeremy, another investigative reporter she'd worked alongside a couple of times in the past. Jeremy still held the recorder in her face and mouthed quick question?
Roxanne huffed and ran her spare hand through her hair. "I don't know, Rob, but it's all I've got. Don't you have extras there for exactly this reason?" She covered the mouthpiece of her phone and responded to Jeremy. "What do you want?"
Rob babbled on in her ear about the extras not bringing in as many viewers as Roxanne, but she wasn't listening. Jeremy's question completely caught her off guard: "Is it true that Megamind, your fiance, set off a bomb at a popular dining establishment last night?"
Roxanne's mouth gaped at the question, and most people around them slowed to a halt at the sound of it. She floundered for an answer, and her numb mind wasn't helped by the aching pain in her foot or the small crowd around them beginning to pull out smartphones and video her response.
"Countless people are waiting to hear from the 'hero' himself, but seeing as he hasn't shown himself since the attack, you're the closest thing we as the people have at the moment," Jeremy continued, pressing the recorder within a couple inches of her face. "You know that one of the civilians that was hospitalized last night passed away this morning, don't you?" His face contorted into an odd shape, like he was becoming angry at her.
"The young man that passed on was my friend's son!" an African-American woman called out from behind the smartphone she had raised high. Roxanne turned to face her, still bewildered, and saw that she was crying. The woman held Roxanne's gaze angrily.
"Well? What do you have to say?" Jeremy prodded.
Roxanne reached lowered her phone with Rob still panicking on the other end and reached her other hand towards the woman, gently resting it on her arm and returning her fierce gaze.
"I am so incredibly sorry for your loss," she started, with a volume that if it hadn't been for the several recording devices within two feet of her, the exchange would've only been loud enough for Roxanne and the other woman to hear. Retracting her hand and turning to face Jeremy and the other members of the crowd, she continued, "But I am appalled that the question of Megamind's innocence would even be raised. He's done nothing but defend us as citizens-"
"For the last year and a half, maybe," Jeremy interrupted, the crowd growing every moment. "But before then, as we all remember, he was the one attacking us at every turn." Murmurs of agreement rippled through the group of people assembled on every side of the two of them. "And we can't just disregard the word of Officer Jameson, who was on the scene. He said he saw Megamind concealing something on his person before he even attempted to help any victims."
Roxanne's stomach sank. So the officer from last night had gone to the press. "I don't know what this officer saw, but I hardly think that one man's word is enough to discredit all the good Megamind has done for Metro City," She insisted.
Roxanne instantly knew that statement was a mistake. The crowd all but rioted around her, and she was bombarded with questions from every angle.
"So you're choosing to discredit the word of an honorable officer, then?" Jeremy's arm was shoved away from her face by an advancing man.
"Why should I believe you're not just standing up for your lover?" Cried a frantic woman, who in pushing through the crowd around her caused Roxanne's phone to be knocked out of her hand.
"How can you say that like you don't care about anything that's happened?" Screeched the African-American woman again, furiously invading Roxanne's space and accidentally stomping on Roxanne's bad foot.
Roxanne yelped in pain, the only effective method of getting the crowd to calm down that worked so far. It didn't last long, however.
"Are you hurt?"
"What happened?"
"Did Megamind hurt you?"
"STOP!" Two voices cried at once, causing Roxanne to look up. She saw two men on either side of her, using their arms to back up the crowd as much as they could.
"Leave the woman alone!" the man on her left yelled while the man on her right stooped beside her and picked up her phone and the battery that had popped out of it. The other man continued to lecture the people around them, but as the man who now had her phone returned it to her, she noticed a rather large, sleek watch on his wrist. Instead of taking her phone back immediately, Roxanne looked up at the man's face. She was met with a toothy grin, and big, brown eyes that winked at her.
Roxanne smiled amid the confusion and took her phone from Minion's hand. Minion used one hand to hang on to Roxanne's arm and the other to push their way out of the crowd. They hurried around the corner where Minion opened a car door for her seemingly out of thin air, and Roxanne climbed in to the backseat of the invisible car with no questions asked, desperate to get off her foot. Minion was soon in the driver's seat, and by the time he had adjusted his holowatch to reveal his true form, Megamind climbed into the backseat on the other side of the car.
Megamind quickly twisted his own watch, his real form looking as frazzled as his disguise. He sent a look to Minion via the rear view mirror, and as Minion began to drive towards Roxanne's work, Megamind turned to face her.
"Why were you walking?" Megamind asked her, looking slightly bewildered. "My Brain Bot said you hurt your foot!"
"Trust me, I didn't want to be walking," she muttered, gently rubbing the sole of her foot through her shoe and the bandage. "My car wouldn't start." She looked back up at him, who, to her surprise, was still looking very confused. He opened his mouth as though to ask another question, but his eyes flicked down to her wrists and he closed it again as his brow furrowed.
"Where is your communication watch?"
Roxanne's eyebrows shot up as she realized her forgotten promise. "Megamind, I'm so sorry. This morning got away from me with the surprise of the broken glass and I completely forgot," she felt her face reddening as she spoke.
Megamind reached into his pocket and fished out a spare communication watch, opened its face to reveal wiring and micro chips, and adjusted some wiring before closing it and handing it to her. "This will call me and the Brain Bots now."
Roxanne took it from him, still upset. "I'm sorry, Megamind," she said, looking back at his eyes.
"It's okay," he responded, brow still furrowed.
"No, it's not," she replied, resting a hand on his knee. "I made a promise and then I screwed it up. I know that this was important to you. I'm sorry."
Megamind smiled at her hand, and then turned to face her. "I forgive you," he said softly, leaning forward and kissing her forehead lightly. "Just be safe today," he continued as they pulled up to the skyscraper where Roxanne worked. "Call me if anything happens."
"I will," she said, and added with another apologetic look, "Promise." She gave him a quick peck and opened up her door.
"Stay off that foot," he called as she shut the car door and limped to the entrance of the building, quickly vanishing inside.
Megamind's brow soon re-furrowed as he pulled out a laptop from under the seat and opened it up, entering a search for the latest news articles concerning himself and the attack last night.
"Where to, Sir?" Minion asked, chipper despite the circumstances.
"The Scott's museum, Minion," Megamind answered. "We have work to do."