Megamind had sat in with Roxanne over the past few weeks after training together in the grand library that she had quickly learned how to navigate through. It appeared as though Bernard had been in through the shelves before since the books were by order of year published and where it had been originally printed since books over two hundred years old tended to not carry dewy numbers like the books being printed now a days.
"It says here that vampires have a natural ability to tap into a persons psyche... is that what happened to me?" Roxanne asked, was she read over a book that had been translated from German.
"Hm." Megamind nodded as he reached over and pressed a finger to the page she was looking at. "If the mind is affected by anything, stress, alcohol, sleep deprivation, the vampire's natural alluring abilities are enhanced significantly. Since you were drunk, that's how he got you to follow him so easily."
"But it also says encountering a vampire of the opposite sex also does that." Roxanne commented.
"Well yes. Women are easily lured away by a male just how men are entrapped by a woman." he said.
"What if the woman is a lesbian, or the man is gay?" she asked.
"Then the vampire is very much screwed, that is, if they aren't drunk. Like I said, if you're not on your game, you can be lured under." Megamind settled back in the seat besides her and looked down at the book in his hands.
Roxanne paused, watching him carefully. "Have you ever been lured by a vampire?" she asked.
Megamind looked away, sniffing as he did. "Of course not."
She could tell a lie when she saw one. Grinning, she set her book down and scooted closer to him. "Yes you have, haven't you?" she asked.
"Noooo!" Megamind replied, lifting his head and shutting his eyes. "I'm far too professional to fall for such trickery."
"You're a liar!" Roxanne gaped, prodding his side. "I can tell! You have!"
"Gah!" he flailed his arms once before pouting, and opened his eyes to look at her. "Fine! Maybe once, or twice, when I was younger I was drawn in by a female vampire."
"A-hah!"
"Yes, yes you're a genius." he rolled his eyes before sighing. "For the first few times, it will be hard to deal with a vampire of the opposite sex. It's just one of their default mechanisms to have people fall for them, and follow them to their deaths. To have someone willingly follow is easier than dragging someone, it saves energy after all."
"Can you built an immunity, like to chicken pox?" Roxanne asked.
"Oh yeah. I can take down female vampires as easily as male ones, now." Megamind said. "And one day you'll be able to as well."
She loved his confidence in her, it was one of the things that kept her going in her pursuit of becoming a fighter like himself. Sometimes, when she was aching and sore after a particularly tough training session, or reading about how horrible some of the vampires of the past have been, she wondered just how she could stand up against them. Then, as if he had heard her doubting herself, Megamind would come by and say something that would make it all worthwhile, and possible all over again.
He really did believe in her, and love her. And she loved him, this blue skinned, green eyed, vampire slaying alien who saw her as the most amazing and beautiful woman in the world.
Megamind.
While vampires were indeed known for being powerful when it came to the art of seduction, Hal hadn't been a vampire that long. It took great amounts of concentration to keep their hold on a person. Not only had he not been a vampire for very long, but he had been wanting Roxanne like this for far longer.
When he finally had his arms around her, and her lips against his, that concentration fractured only just.
That was all Roxanne needed to realize what this was. It took all self control to not shove the man off of her and swear up a storm, since letting him know that she was aware of what he was. Fighting Hal at such close proximity might end very badly for her. While she felt that she could manage, if he got physical with her he could easily break her arm. Or worse.
She broke the kiss and smiled at him in her most alluring look, and she could all but hear his knees turn to jelly as she did. Oh yes, the tables were going to be turned quicker than he knew.
"How about," she trailed a finger tip against his chest (unable to deny that he had toned down, it must be the vampire in him) as she leaned in slightly. "I go slip into something more... hmmmm..." Roxanne paused to chuckle seductively. "Interesting?"
"That'd be so totally awesome." Hal blustered, despite not wanting to let her go. He was so close, so insanely close to making this woman his for all eternity and this fact made his un-dead pulse quicken and sweat begin to bead against his forehead.
"I'll be right back." Roxanne whispered before pulling herself away from him, and though she loathed to, swinging her hips as she did. She could easily hear him trail after her for a few steps before she makes it into her bedroom.
Suddenly wishing her room came with a door, Roxanne scolded the designer to Hell and back. She had to be quick, very quick. But she had to stick to what he thought he was getting, since if his attention was somewhere else (focusing on her body in something 'interesting') he would probably not pick up the fact one of her hands would be innocently hiding behind her back.
Since she had begun training with Megamind, he had given her a stake that he himself had carved years ago. It had been made of very hard, old wood that could do some real damage to anything it struck against hard enough. Even if it was a little heavy in her bag, she knew it was important.
Making her way to her dresser drawers, upon which sat her bag, Roxanne pulled out a few things before changing as quickly as she could. While she loathed to use her body like this, she knew that it was integral. If Hal became too aware that she wasn't under his control anymore he may become violent, and even if she had become stronger in the past few weeks thanks to her training, she was no where near ready to face a vampire alone without any assistance from Megamind or Minion.
Hal, meanwhile, couldn't believe that this was happening. When the woman who had changed him informed him of just what he was capable of, he couldn't have believed her. But after a few trials and errors in the art of drawing a woman in he knew it was finally time to go after that one person he had wanted since the beginning. Finally, Roxanne Ritchi would know just how great he was and that they were meant to be together. It'd be a dream come true, even if the whole vampirism was a little chore what with the blood drinking at all. But the blood just tasted so good it couldn't be wrong.
And now she was in her bedroom, changing into something no doubt sexy. He imagined see through negligee, stockings, straps and lace. Or, what if, what if she walked out completely naked? Oh man, he wouldn't know what to do! Wait. No, that's not right. He'd know what he'd do! It's something he'd fantasized about since he first laid eyes on the brunette.
She had no idea how much her world was going to be rocked.
And then there she was, leaning against the doorframe in a pink see through nightgown that snugly hugged her shapely hips but came to an end just above her knees. It had a plunging neckline, but the teasing pink bra underneath her gown seemed to beckon him forward to help her undress. Her panties were pure white, and as he had anticipated she had pink garter belts holding up white floral stockings.
"Oh wow." he whispered.
"Hmm. Thanks." she grinned at him before beckoning him closer with a curling finger. "Come on then..."
And he did. She watched as he all but tripped over his own feet as he clambered forward. Roxanne backed up, keeping herself just out of his reach before she climbed onto her bed. Hal was on the bed in seconds, kneeling on it, looking as expected as a puppy who was being offered a new squeaky toy. Roxanne finally got closer to him, pressed a hand to his chest, and pushed him downwards onto the bed.
"Oh man Roxie you got no idea how... how..." Hal struggled with the words, finding it impossible to phrase just how he was feeling and just how he had felt towards her all these years.
"Oh Hal." Roxanne sighed softly. "I don't know why it took me this long to realize..." she trailed off and blushed slightly.
"Realize what?" he asked.
"How... how..." she stammered with a heavy breath as she reached above him to adjust the pillow behind his head. "How utterly disgusting you are!" Roxanne finished strongly, and before Hal could calculate just what she was doing, as well as saying, the wooden stake she had thrown behind the pillow came slamming down into his chest with all the force she could.
Hal screamed as the pain engulfed him and he stared at her with a horrified expression of betrayal and heartache first, before it was overpowered by utter anger. Opening his mouth, revealing his gleaming white teeth, he hissed at her.
"Not only have you followed me for years, freaking me out with your creepy attempts at coming onto me, but now? Now your stupid remains are going to stain my BEDSHEETS."
Even as his body began to turn to ash, Hal lashed out and his hand struck her shoulder. The force was powerful enough to push her off of the bed and she landed on her back on the floor. Shoulder aching she sat up, and caught the last glimpse of Hal before he became nothing but ash and dust on her bed.
"Jesus..." she groaned as she slowly stood up, legs shaking from the rush of adrenaline from her first kill. It had gone amazingly but... that had still been Hal. Sure he had been a little creepy towards her but he'd never done anything to hurt her... and he'd been a great cameraman to her too. Shuddering, Roxanne sat on the corner of her bed and put her hands over face.
She didn't know what to feel. Proud? Accomplished? Horrible? Disgusted with herself? She had just killed someone, and not just anyone. Somebody she'd been working with for years. But Megamind had told her, that when a person became a vampire they lost who they were before to the darkness and evil, poisoning their body, mind and soul into an ultimately horrible creature. In a way, she had just saved Hal. He had been a nice guy, and he could rest now without being eternally tormented by the vampirism.
She still felt conflicted about it all.
Getting to her feet she made her way over to the bag she had fetched her stake out of, but this time pulled out a phone. Dialling a number slowly she held it to her ear.
Phone answered, she put on a shaky smile. "Megamind?" she asked before looking at her bed. "Could you... could you tell me the best way to get vampire remains out of my bed...?"
Across town, Megamind was already getting to his feet and running to the hallway to grab his jacket. "What? What do you mean?"
"I mean I just... I just staked a vampire in my room. He got ash everywhere..." Roxanne looked over the remains.
"Hold on. I'll be right there."
"Thanks." she mumbled before hanging up and left the bedroom entirely and walked into the kitchen to get herself something to drink and try to clear her head. So this is what it was like, was it? Taking somebodies life in order to save them? How was it she never considered the fact it would feel like murder? Even if he had been about to take advantage of her, if she hadn't gotten her thoughts together when she had, who knows what he would have done to her before, or after, turning her into a vampire like himself. Or worse, just make her a human slave to do as he commanded, whenever he wanted. This sent a rippled of disgust through her body, and she was suddenly rushing to the bathroom to be sick.
When there came the knocking at her door, Roxanne carefully checked the small view hole to see who it was. Seeing the familiar baldness brought on a wave of emotion she could barely contain and when she threw the door open to see Megamind standing there she all but threw herself at him, arms locking around his shoulders and face buried into his neck.
Megamind had barely a moment to ask anything of her, since she was hanging onto him so tightly he couldn't get a word out even if he tried. Instead he held her back, eyes wide with worry. Slaying your first vampire was never easy, and the emotions you dealt with (if not properly prepared for it) before hand would floor anybody. Even with all his preparation and studies, after he defeated his first vampire as a teenager he had felt all kinds of feelings at the time.
She finally pulled back and smiled at him, a shaky but proud smile, and panted slightly. "I can't believe I did it," she said.
"I can." Megamind said honestly, before walking into her apartment and locking the door behind him. "So in your... uh... bedroom...?" he finally got a good look at what she was wearing and wondered if that was really what one should wear when slaying vampires. All that… see through material and visible underwear, while down right breath taking for him to behold, wasn't really what he had in mind to wear at all.
"Yeah, he... well. It was Hal." Roxanne explained as she led him down the hall to her bedroom door. She leaned against it slightly, looking away from the room. "He showed up and it's like you told me. A vampire has pretty strong alluring abilities and he almost had me but I got it together in time. I still had to make sure he thought he had me under his spell, though hence the... uh. Outfit." she looked down at herself and wondered why she hadn't gone and changed. Yes, she had been busy being sick and feeling a bit woozy since the phone call but surely she had had enough time?
Maybe a part of her wanted him to see her like this.
"Ah, so you did some character playing." Megamind commented as he looked past her into the room where the ash and dust from the vanquished vampire stained the bed and floor. "That's pretty clever of you." he commented. "Even if I'm jealous a vampire got to see you like that before I did."
"Believe me I hated having to do this..." Roxanne admitted, tugging on the nightgown to pull it closer to her, cheeks now blushing.
Megamind smiled faintly before touching her chin with his hand, lifting her head so she was looking at him. "I know it isn't easy..." he then looked at the large bruise forming on her right shoulder. Sighing, he pulled her into another embrace and hugged her. "You took on your first vampire and emerged victorious, and with your first injury to boot. And you did it all by yourself. When I tackled my first? Father was there to help me, so was Minion. You know what this shows me?"
"That I'm lucky?" Roxanne asked.
"No. That you've got the makings of a great vampire hunter and I could not be prouder even if I tried." Megamind said with a smile. "Now, let's get this gunk out of your bedroom and into the trash where it belongs."
"I agree. Hal remains are NOT something I want in my bedroom."
In the end, getting vampire remains out of a bed wasn't that easy. Roxanne and Megamind ended up changing the bed sheets entirely, as well as the cushion covers. As Roxanne took a moment to make him a drink, Megamind even ended up vacuuming her room, humming as he did.
During their cleaning they had gotten a phone call from Bernard, who rang to check up on her but also to let her know that from the smells of things there were vampires all over the place. Did this mean the war had begun, or not? Wayne was keeping an eye on things, though he hated to raise his hands in battle, he had to defend those poor people who may encounter the vampires.
Bernard even had Minion send out a distress call for help from near by Family members in neighbouring states, to come into town as soon as humanely possible to help deal with the wave of vampires. This of course had made Megamind want to race out there to deal with some of the enemies one on one, but Roxanne had to talk him down from doing it.
For one it wasn't fair for him to take on so much responsibility. He had Minion, Wayne, and Bernard out there doing the work for him tonight. That meant a night in.
"Well that's that." Megamind said as he turned off the vacuum cleaner and put it back in the cupboard where it belonged. "What's this?" he asked looking at the cup of chocolate sitting on the dining table.
"Hot chocolate. Just the way you like it." Roxanne smiled as she sipped her own. "Though how a vampire hunter like you doesn't drink coffee I'll never know."
"Coffee? Ick. No thank you." Megamind pulled a face as he took a sniff of the hot chocolate before glancing up at the repaired doors from which the changeling had broken through last time. "...but first..."
Roxanne watched as he pulled his jacket off, revealing the silver dagger strapped to his pant leg, and a stake as always held in place on his back. Of course to remove his jacket meant removing his sword first, of course. She wondered how he could be so nimble with so much heavy weaponry on him, but then remembered he had been doing this a long time.
That's when she saw something she hadn't noticed before. Looped on one of his belt hoops was, what appeared to be at first, a rosary. She saw the beads, and a cross, but upon closer inspection it had other small carved symbols hanging off of it also. She saw the Star and Crescent of Islam, Judaic Star of David, the Hinduism Swatsika (not to be confused with the Nazi symbol), there was even the Khanda symbol that came from the Sikh faith, and the Torii Gate from Shinto.
Once upon a time Roxanne wouldn't have been able to name all of the symbols, or the religion from where they branched, but thanks to her studies with Minion and Megamind she knew a fair number of them. She didn't recognize all of the symbols though that were small and hand carved hanging between the beads on Megamind's waist.
"What are you doing?" she asked as she saw him tug the necklace free of his waist.
"Setting up a way for protection. So even if they came to the window, they'd be incapable of entering. I've been reading up on it." Megamind explained as he looped the long beads around one of his wrists.
She settled back to watch as he began to whisper words she couldn't understand. Roxanne half expected him to pull holy water out of somewhere, or something like that, but all he did was touch his fingertips to each corner of the door, before moving through to do the same to her windows, and front door. All the while he mumbled like a man possessed, drawing symbols in the air as he did. Never before had she seen him do something like this, so it was a treat to watch him work against vampires in a way that didn't involve weaponry.
Once he was done he exhaled softly, and rubbed his hands together before blowing on them. If this was part of the ritual or not it was hard to say, but he promptly returned to the table and drank some of his hot chocolate. "That's good chocolate." he complimented.
Roxanne stared at him, before smiling. "So that will help?" she asked.
"Not as strong as the protection around our house, but it will do for now." Megamind said as he sat down, holding the cup warmly in his hands.
"Can I see?" Roxanne asked, pointing to his beads.
Megamind unwound them from his wrist and handed them over. She looked over them, and was amazed to see while half of them were carved from wood, some of them were made of marble. "Wow... this is beautiful..." she whispered. "Did you make these?"
"Father did." Megamind said. "They were his."
"Oh..." she softened her tone as she looked at them. Most of the beads had inscriptions carved into them, while the religious symbols were pure and untouched by markings. "It must mean a lot to you."
He mumbled.
"You're scared for him aren't you?" she asked.
"Of course. There's vampires out there right now, and he's been gone for so long. If he has gotten away, why didn't he come back? For all I know he could be a monster like them, or worse, a slave! Doing their bidding, unable to help or control himself. You know how that feels now, it isn't right. To think of him like that just..." Megamind gritted his teeth, and his gloves squeaked against the mug in his hands.
"It's not a nice feeling. I wanted to wake up but couldn't, at least until I was able to. He must have... I don't know. Lapsed or something..." Roxanne murmured.
"He hadn't been a vampire for too long. Probably wasn't as good as he thought he was. For that, I'm grateful." Megamind said sternly. Roxanne handed his beads back, and he attached them to his belt again. "Thanks."
The two sipped their hot chocolate in relative silence, before Megamind glanced out the window for the umpteenth time.
"If they needed your help they would call you." Roxanne told him softly. "You know that."
"I know." Megamind mumbled quietly. "Wayne's come a long way from not wanting to fight... and Minion's no push over either. I can't help it though."
"I know." Roxanne moved from her chair to stand besides him, before looping her arms gently around his shoulders and kissed his forehead. "You care so much about everyone, but you never seem to take a moment for yourself."
"Father always said death is when you can rest." he said.
"Well, he was wrong in that retrospect." Roxanne said firmly. "You need to take time for yourself or you'll run yourself ragged and you won't be of any help to anybody. You need to look out for number one... and me."
"I do look out for you!" Megamind replied.
"How about yourself?" she asked.
"Well..."
"I saw you those weeks back. You almost lost your arm to that vampire out at Maple Terrace because you were so exhausted. If Minion hadn't been there who knows what would have happened to you." Roxanne said gently, running her hand against the back of his head. "I know you feel that it's all your responsibility but it isn't. You've got family, and friends, here to help. But they can't help you if you don't let them, or if you keep worrying."
Megamind sighed, and set his mug down. "I know. I know."
"I hope you do. I know we'll be relying on everyone whenever this... this war starts, but right now?" Roxanne actually sat herself down in his lap, resting a hand to his chest. "I'm going to look after you."
"Look... look after me." he repeated with a mumble, since she still hadn't changed out of that outfit yet. Why hadn't she? Did she realize how hard it was to keep his cool about him when she was walking around in underwear like that?
"Yes." she answered softly before kissing his lips in a soft, gentle kiss. "In a way I hope you'll enjoy..."
"I'm liking it so far." he assured her as he settled a hand against her waist.
"Hrm. No, no no..." Roxanne was suddenly off of his lap, ignoring the slight whine he made. "These," she grasped one of his wrists in her hands to inspect the gloves. "Need to go. I want to be able to feel you, not the leather."
"But leather's so amazing." Megamind mumbled as she began slowly tugging his gloves off.
"It is, but you're more amazing." she assured him as she tossed the black glove away, and pressed a kiss to the palm of his hand. "To me, anyway." Roxanne promptly moved to the other gloved hand and carefully removed it, knowing how important his clothing was to him.
"I'd like to think so." he said quietly as he looked at his blue fingers and how they contrasted against her peach colored skin.
"Now this." Roxanne was against him suddenly, fingers unbuttoning the shirt he was wearing.
"This?" Megamind asked, flustered and surprised by how forward she was being tonight. Was this the result of the adrenaline she no doubt encountered after defeating her first vampire? When he had dealt with his, that adrenaline had kept him awake for a whole night and bouncing off the walls.
"Hnn, yes this." she was suddenly kissing him hotly, pressing her body close against his as she continued undoing the buttons on the black shirt. He kissed her back, hungrily, as he felt her hands push the shirt off of his shoulders and down his arms. The cool air bit at his flesh only momentarily before the warmth of her body scared it away. He moaned beneath her lips and hands as they touched him, and he wondered why he had been afraid of being with her like this before.
Roxanne too didn't really know what had come over her, but the time of throwing caution to the wind had passed. Something big was happening, about to happen, and neither of them knew what the out come would be. They hadn't time to play around with their feelings, or each other anymore. She loved him, that much she was sure of, and she wanted to share a physical bond with him that could never be broken.
She didn't remember when the two had got to their feet, or how she had half dragged, half led him from the dining room to the bedroom. The two bumped against the wall first, and she felt the cool wall press against her back but the heat of Megamind crushing in on her from the front was enough to dismiss the cold. He kept everything bad at bay, it seemed. Even if she wasn't a typical damsel in distress, she liked the feeling of being protected, and loved.
The world suddenly turned topsy-turvy and for the second time today Roxanne found herself on her bed with a man, but this time is was with somebody she wanted to be here with.
Even if the phone had rang at any point for the remainder of the night, it would have gone to voice mail because there was nothing in the world that was going to pull Megamind and Roxanne from each other tonight.
Nothing.
To be continued