Fic: Cold Fusion: True North, Chapter 5
Title: Cold Fusion: True North, Chapter 5
Author: Dal_Niente
Rating: M for later chapters
Word Count: 1,225
Author's Note: Very short chapter, this, but I think it works...
Chapter 5
Roxanne has to wait until she's done with work to head over to the Lair - when she finally sends the last email, it's already six o'clock. Damn.
She pulls out her cell phone to text Megamind, to see if he wants her to bring dinner to the lair or if Minion already has plans. He's been oddly quiet - usually the two of them text back and forth from time to time all day, but the film guys have kept Roxanne hopping about the footage, so she hasn't really had a chance to look at her cell phone. When she opens it to check for missed messages, she sees why. The screen is dark.
Roxanne frowns. She rarely turns her phone off. She tries to turn it on, only to find that the battery is, in fact, dead.
Oh well. She'll just ask when she gets there, she decides. She hails a taxi at random instead of calling Akos, since his number is in her phone.
The driver who lets her out near the Lair looks at her dubiously, but doesn't say anything about the abandoned piers or the warehouses possibly being dangerous - minus two points, in Roxanne's mind. But the cab doesn't pull away, either, and Roxanne can see that the driver is watching her, and that's plus two points.
"Hello," she calls as she enters the Lair. "Anyone home?" He's probably too focused on drafting something, she thinks, and grins when she sees the light shining out from under the heavy curtain that separates his work station from the rest of the main room. The curtain is closed, which is unusual, but Roxanne figures Megamind has his reasons and she isn't shy about pulling it open.
What she sees makes her stop dead in her tracks.
Megamind's 'reasons' for having the curtain closed has red hair and freckles. And her hands are all over Megamind.
Roxanne's thought processes slam to a halt. Not possible, she thinks, but it has to be; she can see it. What's more, Roxanne is good at distinguishing genuine reactions from fake ones - she's a reporter, she knows when someone is wearing a real smile. And she can tell that Megamind is genuinely enthusiastic about the current proceedings.
"What," she says, but that's as far as she gets before the anger rises up and chokes her. The redhead and Megamind scramble guiltily apart. Megamind opens his mouth to say something, but Roxanne isn't interested.
"No," she snarls. "No, whatever you're about to say, save it." She turns on her heel and stalks towards the door.
Megamind's voice sounds strangely distant behind her. "But -"
"Shut it, Megs. Go find someone who cares."
If Roxanne had turned around before storming out, she might have seen the image Megamind and the other woman flicker and vanish into thin air. If she had gone deeper into the Lair, she would have seen the real Megamind slump over his controls, staring straight ahead. And if she had hidden in the deep shadows by the door, she might have heard him say, "Well, the three-dimensional projectors are back online," before burying his face in his hands.
Unfortunately, Roxanne does none of these things. , White-faced and trembling, she slams back into the miraculously still-waiting taxi. The driver, who had been checking her cell phone, almost jumps out of her skin.
"Drive," Roxanne snaps.
The driver looks at her. Most of her fares don't sit in the front passenger seat, but she isn't about to tell Roxanne to move, not when she's looking like that. "Where to?"
"I don't care," Roxanne hisses, turning to look out the window. "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, just take me somewhere that isn't here and take me there now. Take me home. 674 River Street."
"Yes ma'am." And the driver pulls away from the curb with enough unsettled vigor that she leaves two black stripes on the pavement.
The screeching tires fit Roxanne's mood perfectly. What on god's green earth…?
A few seconds later, the older woman clears her throat. "So. You...wanna talk about it?"
"No," Roxanne snaps, glaring out at the harbor without seeing anything, but continues without thinking. "I just walked in on my boyfriend making out with some floozy."
The driver nods.
"And I'm just surprised, is all, because he really isn't the type."
The driver grimaces, still nodding sympathetically. "You know, that's what I thought about my ex-husband."
Roxanne glances at her, then away, and lets out a long, shuddering breath. "Yeah, I guess…I mean, I guess this sort of thing isn't really unusual. I just…"
"Never thought it'd happen to you?"
Roxanne forces a chuckle and shakes her head. "Yeah. At least not with this guy. He's really not the type."
"Yeah?" The other woman looks at her. "What type is he?"
"The blue type," Roxanne says, and something in the back of her mind registers that she sounds really sarcastic.
"What?"
"Never mind. Just." She shakes her head and shuts her eyes. "You know what, just let me out here. I'll walk home."
The driver runs a red light. "No way, not in this part of town. I'm taking you back to your place. And you are going to sit tight and think until you're thinking clearly."
Roxanne doesn't want to think; she wants to go tearing back to the Lair and grab Megamind by the throat and shake him. He had known she'd be coming by - if he had another girlfriend, why the hell hadn't he made her leave?
The question brings her up short.
Why, indeed? Roxanne is pretty sure that "getting caught cheating" would be grounds for having a Mastermind License revoked, if such a thing existed. Besides, if anybody could hide an affair, it was Megamind. He wouldn't miss a thing. He was a terrible liar, but he wouldn't have to lie, because he wouldn't get caught. He simply wouldn't. And he may have been an Evil Overlord once upon a time, but Megamind has always had scruples. And he's always been respectful.
And where would he even get another girlfriend? Roxanne has been wrong about guys before, but Megamind is pretty obvious - or so she had thought. She had thought that the guilt of hiding something like that would make him implode. And it might be uncharitable, but Roxanne had honestly thought that he wouldn't have the guts to cheat on her.
This is so out of character for him that it borders on the truly insane, and the more Roxanne thinks about it, the more she just doesn't buy it. Something else is going on, here; something she doesn't know about or had overlooked or…
The casualties aren't going to just stop now that I've switched sides. What happens when another villain shows up?
Minion, did you move the three-dimensional projectors?
Roxanne blinks, dumbfounded. "You've gotta be kidding me," she mutters, and a weird sort of calm settles over her. She should have realized, should have heard what he wasn't saying, but she really hadn't thought Megamind was the sort of guy who would pull the I'm-doing-it-to-protect-you card. "Goddamn it."
On one hand, she's relieved to know that he probably isn't actually cheating on her. On the other hand…
Never mind what's on the other hand. The other hand is balled into a fist.
Chapter 4
Top of Page
Chapter 6
Return to Master List
Author: Dal_Niente
Rating: M for later chapters
Word Count: 1,225
Author's Note: Very short chapter, this, but I think it works...
Chapter 5
Roxanne has to wait until she's done with work to head over to the Lair - when she finally sends the last email, it's already six o'clock. Damn.
She pulls out her cell phone to text Megamind, to see if he wants her to bring dinner to the lair or if Minion already has plans. He's been oddly quiet - usually the two of them text back and forth from time to time all day, but the film guys have kept Roxanne hopping about the footage, so she hasn't really had a chance to look at her cell phone. When she opens it to check for missed messages, she sees why. The screen is dark.
Roxanne frowns. She rarely turns her phone off. She tries to turn it on, only to find that the battery is, in fact, dead.
Oh well. She'll just ask when she gets there, she decides. She hails a taxi at random instead of calling Akos, since his number is in her phone.
The driver who lets her out near the Lair looks at her dubiously, but doesn't say anything about the abandoned piers or the warehouses possibly being dangerous - minus two points, in Roxanne's mind. But the cab doesn't pull away, either, and Roxanne can see that the driver is watching her, and that's plus two points.
"Hello," she calls as she enters the Lair. "Anyone home?" He's probably too focused on drafting something, she thinks, and grins when she sees the light shining out from under the heavy curtain that separates his work station from the rest of the main room. The curtain is closed, which is unusual, but Roxanne figures Megamind has his reasons and she isn't shy about pulling it open.
What she sees makes her stop dead in her tracks.
Megamind's 'reasons' for having the curtain closed has red hair and freckles. And her hands are all over Megamind.
Roxanne's thought processes slam to a halt. Not possible, she thinks, but it has to be; she can see it. What's more, Roxanne is good at distinguishing genuine reactions from fake ones - she's a reporter, she knows when someone is wearing a real smile. And she can tell that Megamind is genuinely enthusiastic about the current proceedings.
"What," she says, but that's as far as she gets before the anger rises up and chokes her. The redhead and Megamind scramble guiltily apart. Megamind opens his mouth to say something, but Roxanne isn't interested.
"No," she snarls. "No, whatever you're about to say, save it." She turns on her heel and stalks towards the door.
Megamind's voice sounds strangely distant behind her. "But -"
"Shut it, Megs. Go find someone who cares."
If Roxanne had turned around before storming out, she might have seen the image Megamind and the other woman flicker and vanish into thin air. If she had gone deeper into the Lair, she would have seen the real Megamind slump over his controls, staring straight ahead. And if she had hidden in the deep shadows by the door, she might have heard him say, "Well, the three-dimensional projectors are back online," before burying his face in his hands.
Unfortunately, Roxanne does none of these things. , White-faced and trembling, she slams back into the miraculously still-waiting taxi. The driver, who had been checking her cell phone, almost jumps out of her skin.
"Drive," Roxanne snaps.
The driver looks at her. Most of her fares don't sit in the front passenger seat, but she isn't about to tell Roxanne to move, not when she's looking like that. "Where to?"
"I don't care," Roxanne hisses, turning to look out the window. "I don't care, I don't care, I don't care, just take me somewhere that isn't here and take me there now. Take me home. 674 River Street."
"Yes ma'am." And the driver pulls away from the curb with enough unsettled vigor that she leaves two black stripes on the pavement.
The screeching tires fit Roxanne's mood perfectly. What on god's green earth…?
A few seconds later, the older woman clears her throat. "So. You...wanna talk about it?"
"No," Roxanne snaps, glaring out at the harbor without seeing anything, but continues without thinking. "I just walked in on my boyfriend making out with some floozy."
The driver nods.
"And I'm just surprised, is all, because he really isn't the type."
The driver grimaces, still nodding sympathetically. "You know, that's what I thought about my ex-husband."
Roxanne glances at her, then away, and lets out a long, shuddering breath. "Yeah, I guess…I mean, I guess this sort of thing isn't really unusual. I just…"
"Never thought it'd happen to you?"
Roxanne forces a chuckle and shakes her head. "Yeah. At least not with this guy. He's really not the type."
"Yeah?" The other woman looks at her. "What type is he?"
"The blue type," Roxanne says, and something in the back of her mind registers that she sounds really sarcastic.
"What?"
"Never mind. Just." She shakes her head and shuts her eyes. "You know what, just let me out here. I'll walk home."
The driver runs a red light. "No way, not in this part of town. I'm taking you back to your place. And you are going to sit tight and think until you're thinking clearly."
Roxanne doesn't want to think; she wants to go tearing back to the Lair and grab Megamind by the throat and shake him. He had known she'd be coming by - if he had another girlfriend, why the hell hadn't he made her leave?
The question brings her up short.
Why, indeed? Roxanne is pretty sure that "getting caught cheating" would be grounds for having a Mastermind License revoked, if such a thing existed. Besides, if anybody could hide an affair, it was Megamind. He wouldn't miss a thing. He was a terrible liar, but he wouldn't have to lie, because he wouldn't get caught. He simply wouldn't. And he may have been an Evil Overlord once upon a time, but Megamind has always had scruples. And he's always been respectful.
And where would he even get another girlfriend? Roxanne has been wrong about guys before, but Megamind is pretty obvious - or so she had thought. She had thought that the guilt of hiding something like that would make him implode. And it might be uncharitable, but Roxanne had honestly thought that he wouldn't have the guts to cheat on her.
This is so out of character for him that it borders on the truly insane, and the more Roxanne thinks about it, the more she just doesn't buy it. Something else is going on, here; something she doesn't know about or had overlooked or…
The casualties aren't going to just stop now that I've switched sides. What happens when another villain shows up?
Minion, did you move the three-dimensional projectors?
Roxanne blinks, dumbfounded. "You've gotta be kidding me," she mutters, and a weird sort of calm settles over her. She should have realized, should have heard what he wasn't saying, but she really hadn't thought Megamind was the sort of guy who would pull the I'm-doing-it-to-protect-you card. "Goddamn it."
On one hand, she's relieved to know that he probably isn't actually cheating on her. On the other hand…
Never mind what's on the other hand. The other hand is balled into a fist.
Chapter 4
Top of Page
Chapter 6
Return to Master List