A/N: Gah, my parents just can't make up their minds! *screams, frustrated*
Ahem. Yeah, the date for me going on the boat has changed. Again. Now I'm going out on the 18th. That's good for you guys, though – I may be able to squeeze off another chapter before then. :)
.:':. .:':. .:':.
Roxanne was aware of all the cameras on her and the unconscious Megamind, and the other reporters already pressing forward to get the scoop on what was happening.
Perhaps it was fortunate, but the blood trailing from the corner of Megamind's mouth had wiped off onto the equally red sleeve of Roxanne's shirt. She wasn't sure if any other the cameras had caught footage of it in the first place, but now they definitely wouldn't. For the first time, as she looked over to the horde of reporters all trying to beat each other to the punch, she felt a sense of disgust at what her profession sometimes called for. The city's hero was unconscious, and all they cared about was getting an interview from his girlfriend, hoping there was some sort of big scandal going on.
Take a deep breath, she told herself. She smiled wanly at the crowd, ignoring the mob that would soon start shoved cameras and microphones in her face. "Sorry about this, folks," she called out to the crowd, and the press redoubled their efforts so they could capture every word. "Megamind hasn't really been sleeping that well, and he's been overworking himself. That's why he's collapsed. He'll be fine in a few days." I hope. She forced another weak grin. "Don't worry," she assured the confused crowd. "Everything will be fine." A little more quietly, she added, "Though now I do need to get him home." She shifted the comatose blue alien in her arms so she was carrying him bridal style. He was surprisingly light.
Thinking quickly, she reached down and grabbed Megamind's wrist, switching on the communicator on his watch. "Minion!" she hissed into it now. "I need you to get the invisible car to the back of the new mall as fast as possible." The reporters had closed in on her now, and a multitude of microphones were waving in front of her as they all jostled for space.
"Miss Ritchie, what is it, really, that just happened?"
"Has Megamind fallen ill?"
"Are you able to comment, Miss Ritchie?"
The questions bombarded her from every direction. She hastily gave a general 'no comment' and made pushed open the doors of the mall.
Her heels clicked echoingly as she made her way through the empty mall, Megamind still cradled, unconscious, in her arms. It was eerie, being in a mall with absolutely no one else around. Roxanne was used to seeing hundreds of people milling around whenever she went to the mall – any mall. She couldn't help but look furtively to her left and right, as if expecting a crowd to suddenly come streaming in.
She glanced down at Megamind, hoping he had woken, but of course he hadn't. Initially, he had been light, but now her arms, unused to carrying large weights, were beginning to protest. There was still at least half the mall left for her to traverse, and she groaned inwardly, quickening her pace. Finally, she reached the back entrance, where Minion was already waiting with the invisible car. His concern was almost palpable. "What's happened?" he asked, gesturing the still form of Megamind that she was in the process of strapping in to the front seat. She clambered into the back seat, putting on her own seatbelt and closing the door before answering.
"It was the amnesia again. I don't know why it hit him in the middle of the day, but I think he did get his memories back before he fell unconscious." She shook her head. "What worries me is that he was bleeding from his mouth. I may not have much medical knowledge, but I know that's bad."
Gripping the wheel so tightly it cracked a little, Minion took a calming breath to steady his frantic nerves. "I agree, Miss Ritchie. This is bad. It probably means he's bleeding internally. But I think we should wait until we get back to the Lair before we start discussing this. After all, we can have a better look at him there, instead of relying on a hasty diagnosis." He turned and smiled weakly at her to show he meant no insult by the words.
She nodded, eyes downcast. "No, it's okay." She fiddled with the seatbelt. "I understand. I just… I wish we knew what's wrong with him."
"Don't worry, Miss Ritchie. We will."
The rest of the car trip was silent.
Minion insisted that he carry the unconscious hero inside. Roxanne, sensing how important it was to him, deferred to him without a word. With the utmost care, Minion laid Megamind down on his bed, gently tucking the bedcovers around him. Leaning against the wall closest to the bed with her arms crossed, Roxanne couldn't help but grin. "You look like a concerned parent."
He turned inside his tank to face her. "Well, in a way, I am, Miss Ritchie. I mean, his parents made me his guardian, and that's close enough, right?"
"Definitely close enough." Her smile faded and she sighed, moving closer to stand alongside Minion. "He looks so… vulnerable," she murmured.
"Well, he's sturdier than he looks, Miss Ritchie," Minion said, his irrepressible cheeriness showing through. "He's been through some pretty tough scrapes before, and come out of them no worse for wear."
Roxanne raised an eyebrow. "Tough scrapes? What do you mean?"
The fish seemed distinctly uncomfortable. "When he was a villain, of course. He has amazing recuperative strength, but he's not indestructible like Metroman is." He looked at her meaningfully and her eyes widened.
"But… I never thought…" She was lost for words, realising that, in essence, this made Megamind the victim, and Metroman the bully. Megamind had never told her about his school life before, so she'd had no way of knowing.
Minion nodded, a little sadly. "Not many people would. It helps, of course, that he never let any injuries keep him for too long. He's a fighter." He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, Miss Ritchie. He'll be fine." He lowered his voice. "He has to be."
Searching quickly for a less disheartening topic, she came up with, "Do you have to call me Miss Ritchie all the time?" She smiled. "It is okay for you to call me Roxanne, you know. You're too formal when you talk to friends."
His face suddenly lit up with a smile that stretched the entire width of his face. "Really, Miss Ritchie? We're friends?" he asked wonderingly. "I've never had a friend besides sir." He looked to her for confirmation. She nodded, but gazed at him pointedly. Belatedly, he added, "Oh, I mean, Roxanne." The word felt strange coming from his mouth.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, never mind. I can see it's easier for you to call me Miss Ritchie."
"Okay, Miss Ritchie." She grinned and raised her eyes to the heavens. "Sir might take a few days to recover. I think it's best if we just left him to rest for a while."
.:':. .:':. .:':.
"The details are still mostly unknown, and anyone close to Megamind is currently unavailable for comment." The stern-looking reporter was wearing a pigeon-grey dress suit, her brown her savagely pulled back into a bun. Roxanne growled and all but stabbed the off button of the remote with her thumb. "Honestly, every news channel in this city spends half an hour saying that they don't know what's going on."
It had been a little over four days since the incident at the new Metro Mall. Both Minion and Roxanne were on edge. Minion spent the time intermittently checking on Megamind, and tackling the growing stack of work. Roxanne, of course, had work of her own to deal with, though she had tried to convince Minion to let her stay by Megamind's side. He had to practically force her out the door so she would got to her job. Her apartment had stayed empty since Megamind had fallen unconscious; every evening, she would go to the Lair in the hope that he had woken, then stayed there until morning, hoping that he would. Each time, she was bitterly disappointed, and she had grown moody and crabby with each progressive day.
Minion tended to steer clear of her in her worse moods. She would only settle when they were tending to Megamind, which she insisted she helped with. "I am his girlfriend, after all."
On the fifth day, he finally woke, if only briefly. He was aware of where he was, and hadn't seemed to have lost any of his memories, which he quickly reassured them of. Roxanne and Minion had been with him at the time, and they'd grinned wearily at each other, thinking that the worse had finally passed.
Right up until he started vomiting up blood.
He heaved helplessly, and to Roxanne it seemed that there was far too much. It lasted for an awful two minutes, then he drew a deep, shuddering breath and went under again. She turned her worried gaze to Minion.
"I don't care what he's said. We need to get him to a hospital."
.:':. .:':. .:':.
A/N: Bwahahaha! Megamind was right – being evil is much cooler. :)
I *might* be able to update within the next two days. If I can't, there won't be any updates for a week after that, seeing as I'll be on the boat. But hopefully I'll manage it. *crosses fingers*
-pixie.