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Chapter 2
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First, a big thank you to koryandrs for reviewing the first chapter! Never forget, reviews are the fanfic author's lifeblood, friends!
Finally, a second chapter! A little more set up, a little more of seeing the characters interact with each other. I'm not SUPER happy with how it's turned out, but it's another one of the transition chapters that I'm never going to love, lol. Things will start heating up in the next chapter, most likely. Thanks for reading everyone!
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Susan snuck out of her room as quietly as she could, wrapped up in nice robe that was just a bit too short for her. She found Minion at the end of that hall, as promised. "Good morning, Miss!" the fish whispered, smiling. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, but I'm kinda hungry," she answered, mimicking his quiet tones. "Are Megamind and Roxanne...?"
"Still asleep, I'm afraid." He stood and gestured. "Sir was up late working on a new project. Come to the kitchen and I'll make you some breakfast."
She followed him, feeling a bit silly. When they reached the kitchen, he took a pile of silver cloth off the counter and handed to her. "I made this last night, Miss. It's a dress that will stretch with you when you change form. I know the fabric is a bit flashy, but it's all I had available."
Taking the soft cloth and testing it with her fingers, she smiled. "Thank you so much, Minion!"
"It's no problem, Miss Murphy," he insisted, pulling milk and sausage out of a very strange looking refrigerator. "I make all of Sir's outfits by hand, and I'm happy to make yours too. In fact, if you find some styles you like, I can make super stretch clothes for you so you don't need to worry about your clothes ripping when you change form."
"You're so thoughtful!" She looked down. "Do you mind if I change?"
"Not at all," he answered happily. "I'm making biscuits and gravy, so take your time and come back when you're ready."
Just as he was pulling the biscuits out of the oven, Susan came back, the silver dress hugging her slim curves. "Well?" she asked.
"Oh, my," came a lower female voice behind her, and a warm hand touched her lower back. "You look stunning, Susan," Roxanne continued, coming around to her front.
Susan flushed under the attention, noting Megamind's interested. "Well, I have Minion to thank, he's very talented."
The fish laughed self-consciously, spooning gravy over the steaming biscuits. "Just doing my duty. Soup's on!" The plates were placed on the table quickly, and Susan sat with the hero and his wife. "So, what's on the agenda for today, Sir?" Minion continued, upending a container of fish flakes into his bowl.
"I hoped to finish some adjustments on the De-hydration gun, and upgrade the oh-perating system on the main computer, and few other projects..." He turned to Roxanne. "I believe you had some plans with Susan today, my sweet?"
Roxanne smiled mischeivously and turned to the white-haired woman. "Ready to get in some shopping therapy?"
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Susan hadn't been out in public like this for years. No one was staring at her, no one moved out of her way, but the press of bodies on the sidewalk made her feel somewhat claustrophobic. She pressed closer to Roxanne than was probably necessary, but the older woman smiled as though she understood and pulled her in with an arm around her waist. She breathed a sigh of relief when they entered Bloomingdales, the store much less crowded than the street.
She tried on several outfits at Bloomingdale's, feeling foolish modeling them before someone as fashionable and sophisticated as Roxanne Ritchie. The older woman made quite a show of examining each piece, unafraid to be honest when something didn't look just as it should on Susan's slender form. Finally, they settled on a few stylish tops and bottoms that were sporty enough to appeal to Susan's sensibilities; she really wasn't the kind of woman who could pull off miniskirts and glittering blouses, she thought, not like her companion. These were shapely slacks, vee-necked tops, and numerous tunics, along with sensible underthings.
Roxanne insisted on buying the pieces, despite Susan's objections. "I thought Minion was going to make me a few outfits based on these designs!" she hissed in Roxanne's ear, trying to be quiet. "Wouldn't pictures be enough?"
"He needs them for patterns," she said quietly. "It's nothing."
Susan was dismayed; why hadn't she brought any money with her? For that matter, when was the last time her fingers had been small enough to handle money? "I'll pay you back," she insisted as they neared the front of the store.
"Susan, it's really not a big deal. My treat." The older woman smiled but was clearly puzzled by Susan's behavior. Then she stopped the girl and pointed to a nearby television. "What's-"
Susan turned and caught a flash of blue and black onscreen. They both ran towards it, the words "Deadly Battle in Downtown" splashed across the bottom of the scene. Megamind's giant robot seemed to be fighting with another scientists creation. "Isn't that nearby?" Susan asked. They shared a glance and immediately bolted out the door.
It was easy to locate the battle, only three blocks away. Loud crashes and debris were already reaching them, Metro City's citizens rushing past and threatening to knock them over as they moved the opposite direction, towards the battle. Roxanne's phone rang. "It's work. I have to-" She broke off with a scream, pointing to a huge piece of concrete that was flying through the air, heading straight for them.
Susan acted without conscience thought. With a small click and whoosh of air, she activated the quantonium, and she intercepted concrete quickly. She caught it with her right hand and compensated for the force, quickly throwing it back at the bad guy like a baseball. She was unfortunately wide of her mark, however. "Get out of here!" she yelled at Roxanne, who was looking up at her in awe. "All of you, go!" she added, gesturing to the motionless populace around her.
"You've got it! Be careful!" She took the bags containing their purchases and ran away quickly, the rest of the crowd following her lead. Susan took off toward the battling robots, carefully placing her feet so as not to crush anyone.
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This definitely wasn't going to plan.
Somehow, the new villain's suit was stronger than his. He had designed his several years ago, of course, and he mentally scolded himself for not updating it or building a better one in the intervening time. Well, he'd put it out of his mind for now, and revisit it if... when he won.
The impact of his robotic suit against a nearby wall threw detritus across many nearby city blocks; he only hoped the citizens nearby had taken refuge in the basement or fled the scene entirely. Attempting to take the upper hand, he pushed the foot of the suit up underneath his opponent and threw him a few yards. "Ha ha! Feel the impact of Justice!" he crowed, sounding more self-assured than he really felt. Then again, he was once accustomed to sounding sure of himself when he was only sure he'd lose...
And how sure was he that he would win this battle?
This man, whom he'd dealt with only once previously and failed to capture, was dedicated to "eradicating the alien threat" and referred to himself as "The Purist". Megamind was, quite frankly, disgusted. It was hard for him to fathom that a being with any amount of intelligence would believe that one type of sentient creature was above another, let alone someone with an intellect nearing his own.
Still, that made little difference now, when he was staring down the barrel of a newly revealed laser-gun. He should have made his suit bigger, implemented more safety structures, it was obvious now. He wasn't going to be able to get up fast enough to dodge the shot, but his ever-brilliant mind could already see how to counter this sort of attack, if only he'd had time to create it. "Roxanne..." he whispered, "I'm sorry..."
Before the bright red blast could hit him, a figure slightly smaller than his suit blocked it's path, causing it to ricochet off into the sky. He looked up, through the transparent dome above him, to see an ocean of peach skin interrupted by huge pink lips and two pools of teal that he quickly recognized as eyes. "Okay, Blue?" Susan asked, easily deflecting the ray that hit her back instead of him as she hovered over him.
"Yes. Now." Megamind smiled devilishly, realizing the advantage that Ginormica joining the battle would give him. "His weapon won't hurt you?" he confirmed, relishing the enraged growl from the out-of-sight opponent.
"Nope!" She returned his grin and rolled to the side, hopping to her feet. Instantly she was rushing the bright silver contraption that Megamind's adversary controlled. She punched it's head, sending it flying into the street behind before pulling Megmind's suit to it's feet. "What'd'ya say we tag team him?" she offered, feeling her blood pumping in veins like it hadn't in a long time.
"That sounds simply magnificent," he agreed readily, and together they rushed the villain's suit.
After a few traded punches, and many deflected laser beams, Megamind had hacked into the suits mechanisms and forced the clear windshield up, allowing Susan to pluck the man out of the contraption easily. "Hey!" the Purist protested, kicking at her huge hand. "Don't touch me! I don't need your filth on me!"
"Now, now," Megamind drawled with a smirk, thrusting his chest out heroically, "That's no way to speak to a lady."
Susan had never had to deal with the more mundane aspects of being a hero, namely keeping the enemy contained but unharmed until the authorities arrived. so, she held the villain by the collar, dangling like something dirty and shameful from her fingers. "Alien garbage! You disgust me!"
"Give it a break," Susan moaned, plopping down onto the sidewalk with a huge impact that shook the buildings around her. she jiggled her hand, shaking the Purist gently. "Can't we all just get along?"
"I will not cave to your demands, you taint on the human species!" the balding man screeched, thrashing about.
"When are the police gonna get here, Blue?" she sighed, leaning her chin in her free hand.
"Soon," Megamind assured her, his huge green eyes apologetic as he took in her massive face. "For your information, Mister I-Hate-Everyone, Ginormica here is human. No need to antagonize her."
"She's been contaminated with alien energy; she's no better than you are," he snarled, crossing his arms. "You repulsive freak!"
"I know you are, but what am I?" Megamind countered childishly.
"All right, now," Susan scolded, shaking the index finger of her free hand at her fellow hero. "Try to take the high road. Just ignore him."
She attempted to ignore their petulant bickering, and was shortly rewarded by the arrival of the police. Within a half hour, they had debriefed the heroes and they were free to go. Susan twisted the watch face, shrinking back to her normal size and coming to stand by Megamind. She was starting to realize, as she found herself examining his profile, that he was only taller than her due to his giant cranium, that their eyes were nearly on the same level. Her gaze lingered on the angle of his jaw, the smugly satisfied look on his face as he watched the officers corralling The Purist into a patrol car. She'd only had a short explanation of his shift from evil to good; he had told her some of it on the drive, hesitating over certain points. As she took in his stance, his satisfied expression, she thought it suited him.
She only broke her stare when he turned to share his delight in their achievement with her, trying to hold off the far too telling rush of blood to her cheeks. "We make a good team," she blurted out, unable to help herself.
"Indubitably!" Smiling, he took her hand and led her towards the massive form of his robotic suit. "Hop right on in, I'll take us home," he said. Her heart surged with hope. Home... Do I have a home again...?
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TBC