Fic: Cold Fusion: True North, Chapter 6
Title: Cold Fusion: True North, Chapter 6
Author: Dal_Niente
Rating: M for later chapters
Word Count: 1,643
Author's Note: I send big hugs to you all. And cookies! There will always be cookies. ^^ Oh, and I don't own Megamind. I don't own Batman, either.
Chapter 6
The odd sense of calm wears off sometime between the time that the taxi pulls away and the time that Roxanne gets into her building, because Carlos is kind of red and hazy around the edges. By the time Roxanne reaches her apartment, she's worked herself into a category-five rage.
She storms through her door and slams it behind her, throws her purse at the sofa. It lands with a disappointingly soft pluth.
There are. No. Words.
If there is one thing Roxanne cannot stand, it's people who make decisions based on what they think is best for their significant others. Especially if they don't talk about it. It's demeaning, and rude, and inconsiderate, and -
- And I've had enough of people thinking I need protecting!
Roxanne lets out a strangled scream of frustration, hoping it will make her feel better. It only makes her feel silly.
Desperately, she wonders if there's any way she could have misread the signs - maybe she's just jumping to conclusions? She knows she tends to do that more when she's stressed, and she's definitely been stressed out about that stupid documentary.
Her phone rings, and she picks up without thinking. A distraction, yes, please, anything.
"Roxanne, honey! How was your trip? I wanted to give you a day or so to settle back in before I called. Also, your cell phone is off, you might want to turn it on."
Anything but that.
"Hi, Mom." She turns and sinks onto the sofa, only to leap up again with her teeth bared and snatch blindly for the purse she has just sat on. She stops herself just short of flinging it at the wall, telling herself that it would accomplish nothing. She forces herself to take a long, deep breath through her nose instead. "The trip was…the trip was good. I'm still really tired." She sits back down, and her purse slides through her fingers, forgotten. "Made the mistake of taking a nap when I got back."
There's a short pause. Then, "What's wrong?"
Roxanne sits up. "What? Nothing's wrong."
Linda Ritchi laughs. "I'm your mother, I can tell when something's wrong. What is it? Can I help?"
Somehow, Megamind has managed to render Roxanne nearly hysterical twice in as many months. She has to try hard not to burst out laughing at her mother's offer. She can either laugh or cry, and she much prefers the former.
"I…I very much doubt it, Mom. But thanks."
"Change of subject?"
This time Roxanne does laugh, a little. "Please."
"How did you like getting away from the city for a change? Was it nice?"
Roxanne can picture her mother, up late at her house in California with a jar of nail polish in one hand and a pen in the other, grey hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her book of crossword puzzles is probably still lying on the arm of her chair, and there are probably at least three other similar books within a ten-foot radius. The sliding doors to the patio will be open, and all unnecessary lights turned off.
Things at home would be blissfully normal.
Roxanne bites her lip hard. Metro City is home and always has been, and she knows that, but moving back and forth between the two cities when she was a child has left Roxanne with a less-than-healthy residual sense of home-is-where-I'm-not, especially when times are tough. And right now, she just wants to go home. And she wants a hug. Let it never be said that Roxanne Ritchi can't tough it out on her own, but sometimes even she needs a hug.
"It was really great. Amsterdam was gorgeous. And before you ask, yes, I brought back cheese, it's in my fridge, I'm mailing it to you soon." She rolls her eyes at her mother's happy exclamations, and tries not to remember that the cheese is, in fact, still wrapped in a bag in Megamind's fridge.
They chat about nothing in general for a while, and Roxanne half-listens to her mother reminisce about the times she's gone abroad. But her mind is elsewhere.
Finally she can't stand it; she has to ask. "Mom, I've got a hypothetical question for you. Well. Not hypothetical." Because, in Roxanne's experience and probably her mother's as well, these sorts of hypothetical questions are never hypothetical. "One of my friends is going through a rough patch with her guy-friend, and I could use some advice."
"Sure, honey. Shoot."
"She's found someone she thinks is a really great guy, but he has some skeletons in his closet. Maybe he's pissed off some important people, and maybe he's worried that some powerful people are going to come looking for a fight." Metro City is pretty big, and it has a strong criminal network. Linda knows that, so hopefully she won't ask any awkward questions. "I've met the guy, and I can vouch for his character. He's clean, now. But he…he left my friend even though things were going really well, and we think it's because he wanted to keep her safe." At this point, it's fairly obvious to Roxanne that she wouldn't have seen anything if Megamind had not wanted her to see it. "Is there...any other reason he might have done it? At all?"
Linda is quiet for a little while. Finally she sighs. "Do you know anything about his family?"
"I know he's an orphan. Foster care didn't work out. He never really had a family."
"So he has nobody?"
Roxanne hesitates. How to describe Minion? "We-ell," she says slowly, drawing it out. "He has a friend. They've known each other pretty much forever. It's kind of a…Batman and Alfred situation? Kind of?"
"Oh, Lord." Linda lets a long breath out into the phone. "He probably got into the bad business back when he was an angry teenager, am I right? He's got some trust issues, doesn't trust anyone but 'Alfred'? Sort of an 'everybody's left me' kind of thing?"
"That's pretty much it, yeah," Roxanne admits.
"Well," her mother begins, then stops, catches herself, "- who's the friend? Is it Jo?"
Roxanne fumbles. "It…sure is, yeah. How'd you know?" Sorry, Jo, she thinks guiltily, but she knows Jo will cover for her if she has to.
"Lucky guess." There's another brief pause. "Well, if it's Jo, she's well rid of this guy. She doesn't have the patience to deal with someone with his kind of mindset."
"But why would he do something like that without at least talking to her?" Roxanne asks desperately. That's the problem. That's what's pissing her off.
"He might not trust her, although that depends both on how well they know each other and how long they've known each other. But he sure as shooting doesn't trust himself. He's probably scared." Linda sounds a little like she's running down a list -- her years as a therapist are kicking in. "He's scared she'll get hurt, but he's scared if he tells her that she'll talk him out of separation. He's not sure if he wants to be with her or not, since trusting someone not to hurt you on such a deeply emotional level like that is a big step up from trusting nobody. He's also probably scared of her, to a degree, and of what she can do to him. Chances are, he's not ready to deal with someone else having power over him, and he's taking the easy way out. Honey, I could be wrong, but that's my take."
Some of that…might actually be true. But Roxanne can still remember Megamind lying in the grass in the park, panicked and frightened but still talking to her. She remembers being surprised, and impressed that he was forcing himself to stay still and talk it out.
"Roxanne?"
"I'm still here, Mom. Just…thinking." And she is just thinking. Trying to make sense of it, but it doesn't make sense.
"Well, honey, it's getting late here and you've got a lot on your mind." Her mother sighs. "Let Jo know I'm rooting for her, okay? She's a trooper, she'll be okay. And...Roxanne."
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? It's almost a year since Wayne passed, but you haven't really said anything about it. And there was that Bernard thing - Andrew told me that you separated." Linda is speaking quickly - she actually sounds kind of embarrassed. "I didn't want to say anything, since you didn't tell me, but…are you doing okay, sweetie?"
Roxanne shoves herself into the corner of the sofa, folds her free arm across her chest, and glowers. "I'm doing fine, Mom."
"Okay, okay - I'm just asking. And everything's okay with…the city?"
Roxanne stiffens. "I thought you were going to bed."
"You're a very trusting person and I don't want you to get hurt, that's all. It might have fixed the damage, but that doesn't mean it isn't -"
Roxanne can feel the blood drain from her face. "Mother, I will not discuss this right now. I am angry and worried and tired and not in the mood, and if you try to argue with me I will hang up on you."
Her mother sighs. "All right, Roxanne. I love you."
"Love you too. Goodnight."
Roxanne hangs up, then tosses the phone to the other end of the sofa and glares at it.
The issue hasn't been dropped. She and her mother have been arguing for almost a year - longer, really, although it's really intensified over the past month or so - and have gotten nowhere. I'm just glad Megamind never found out, she thinks, and then she can't hold it in anymore. She brings her legs up to her chest, wraps her arms around them, and puts her head down on her knees and cries.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As with any large machine, this one will take time to reach full power.
If his calculations are correct - and they are - it should take fourteen hours to reach capacity. The current is strong, but it starts out weak, that's the key, that's what will keep it from overloading.
He grins, and sets his watch.
13:59.
Chapter 5
Top of Page
Chapter 7
Return to Master List
Author: Dal_Niente
Rating: M for later chapters
Word Count: 1,643
Author's Note: I send big hugs to you all. And cookies! There will always be cookies. ^^ Oh, and I don't own Megamind. I don't own Batman, either.
Chapter 6
The odd sense of calm wears off sometime between the time that the taxi pulls away and the time that Roxanne gets into her building, because Carlos is kind of red and hazy around the edges. By the time Roxanne reaches her apartment, she's worked herself into a category-five rage.
She storms through her door and slams it behind her, throws her purse at the sofa. It lands with a disappointingly soft pluth.
There are. No. Words.
If there is one thing Roxanne cannot stand, it's people who make decisions based on what they think is best for their significant others. Especially if they don't talk about it. It's demeaning, and rude, and inconsiderate, and -
- And I've had enough of people thinking I need protecting!
Roxanne lets out a strangled scream of frustration, hoping it will make her feel better. It only makes her feel silly.
Desperately, she wonders if there's any way she could have misread the signs - maybe she's just jumping to conclusions? She knows she tends to do that more when she's stressed, and she's definitely been stressed out about that stupid documentary.
Her phone rings, and she picks up without thinking. A distraction, yes, please, anything.
"Roxanne, honey! How was your trip? I wanted to give you a day or so to settle back in before I called. Also, your cell phone is off, you might want to turn it on."
Anything but that.
"Hi, Mom." She turns and sinks onto the sofa, only to leap up again with her teeth bared and snatch blindly for the purse she has just sat on. She stops herself just short of flinging it at the wall, telling herself that it would accomplish nothing. She forces herself to take a long, deep breath through her nose instead. "The trip was…the trip was good. I'm still really tired." She sits back down, and her purse slides through her fingers, forgotten. "Made the mistake of taking a nap when I got back."
There's a short pause. Then, "What's wrong?"
Roxanne sits up. "What? Nothing's wrong."
Linda Ritchi laughs. "I'm your mother, I can tell when something's wrong. What is it? Can I help?"
Somehow, Megamind has managed to render Roxanne nearly hysterical twice in as many months. She has to try hard not to burst out laughing at her mother's offer. She can either laugh or cry, and she much prefers the former.
"I…I very much doubt it, Mom. But thanks."
"Change of subject?"
This time Roxanne does laugh, a little. "Please."
"How did you like getting away from the city for a change? Was it nice?"
Roxanne can picture her mother, up late at her house in California with a jar of nail polish in one hand and a pen in the other, grey hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her book of crossword puzzles is probably still lying on the arm of her chair, and there are probably at least three other similar books within a ten-foot radius. The sliding doors to the patio will be open, and all unnecessary lights turned off.
Things at home would be blissfully normal.
Roxanne bites her lip hard. Metro City is home and always has been, and she knows that, but moving back and forth between the two cities when she was a child has left Roxanne with a less-than-healthy residual sense of home-is-where-I'm-not, especially when times are tough. And right now, she just wants to go home. And she wants a hug. Let it never be said that Roxanne Ritchi can't tough it out on her own, but sometimes even she needs a hug.
"It was really great. Amsterdam was gorgeous. And before you ask, yes, I brought back cheese, it's in my fridge, I'm mailing it to you soon." She rolls her eyes at her mother's happy exclamations, and tries not to remember that the cheese is, in fact, still wrapped in a bag in Megamind's fridge.
They chat about nothing in general for a while, and Roxanne half-listens to her mother reminisce about the times she's gone abroad. But her mind is elsewhere.
Finally she can't stand it; she has to ask. "Mom, I've got a hypothetical question for you. Well. Not hypothetical." Because, in Roxanne's experience and probably her mother's as well, these sorts of hypothetical questions are never hypothetical. "One of my friends is going through a rough patch with her guy-friend, and I could use some advice."
"Sure, honey. Shoot."
"She's found someone she thinks is a really great guy, but he has some skeletons in his closet. Maybe he's pissed off some important people, and maybe he's worried that some powerful people are going to come looking for a fight." Metro City is pretty big, and it has a strong criminal network. Linda knows that, so hopefully she won't ask any awkward questions. "I've met the guy, and I can vouch for his character. He's clean, now. But he…he left my friend even though things were going really well, and we think it's because he wanted to keep her safe." At this point, it's fairly obvious to Roxanne that she wouldn't have seen anything if Megamind had not wanted her to see it. "Is there...any other reason he might have done it? At all?"
Linda is quiet for a little while. Finally she sighs. "Do you know anything about his family?"
"I know he's an orphan. Foster care didn't work out. He never really had a family."
"So he has nobody?"
Roxanne hesitates. How to describe Minion? "We-ell," she says slowly, drawing it out. "He has a friend. They've known each other pretty much forever. It's kind of a…Batman and Alfred situation? Kind of?"
"Oh, Lord." Linda lets a long breath out into the phone. "He probably got into the bad business back when he was an angry teenager, am I right? He's got some trust issues, doesn't trust anyone but 'Alfred'? Sort of an 'everybody's left me' kind of thing?"
"That's pretty much it, yeah," Roxanne admits.
"Well," her mother begins, then stops, catches herself, "- who's the friend? Is it Jo?"
Roxanne fumbles. "It…sure is, yeah. How'd you know?" Sorry, Jo, she thinks guiltily, but she knows Jo will cover for her if she has to.
"Lucky guess." There's another brief pause. "Well, if it's Jo, she's well rid of this guy. She doesn't have the patience to deal with someone with his kind of mindset."
"But why would he do something like that without at least talking to her?" Roxanne asks desperately. That's the problem. That's what's pissing her off.
"He might not trust her, although that depends both on how well they know each other and how long they've known each other. But he sure as shooting doesn't trust himself. He's probably scared." Linda sounds a little like she's running down a list -- her years as a therapist are kicking in. "He's scared she'll get hurt, but he's scared if he tells her that she'll talk him out of separation. He's not sure if he wants to be with her or not, since trusting someone not to hurt you on such a deeply emotional level like that is a big step up from trusting nobody. He's also probably scared of her, to a degree, and of what she can do to him. Chances are, he's not ready to deal with someone else having power over him, and he's taking the easy way out. Honey, I could be wrong, but that's my take."
Some of that…might actually be true. But Roxanne can still remember Megamind lying in the grass in the park, panicked and frightened but still talking to her. She remembers being surprised, and impressed that he was forcing himself to stay still and talk it out.
"Roxanne?"
"I'm still here, Mom. Just…thinking." And she is just thinking. Trying to make sense of it, but it doesn't make sense.
"Well, honey, it's getting late here and you've got a lot on your mind." Her mother sighs. "Let Jo know I'm rooting for her, okay? She's a trooper, she'll be okay. And...Roxanne."
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? It's almost a year since Wayne passed, but you haven't really said anything about it. And there was that Bernard thing - Andrew told me that you separated." Linda is speaking quickly - she actually sounds kind of embarrassed. "I didn't want to say anything, since you didn't tell me, but…are you doing okay, sweetie?"
Roxanne shoves herself into the corner of the sofa, folds her free arm across her chest, and glowers. "I'm doing fine, Mom."
"Okay, okay - I'm just asking. And everything's okay with…the city?"
Roxanne stiffens. "I thought you were going to bed."
"You're a very trusting person and I don't want you to get hurt, that's all. It might have fixed the damage, but that doesn't mean it isn't -"
Roxanne can feel the blood drain from her face. "Mother, I will not discuss this right now. I am angry and worried and tired and not in the mood, and if you try to argue with me I will hang up on you."
Her mother sighs. "All right, Roxanne. I love you."
"Love you too. Goodnight."
Roxanne hangs up, then tosses the phone to the other end of the sofa and glares at it.
The issue hasn't been dropped. She and her mother have been arguing for almost a year - longer, really, although it's really intensified over the past month or so - and have gotten nowhere. I'm just glad Megamind never found out, she thinks, and then she can't hold it in anymore. She brings her legs up to her chest, wraps her arms around them, and puts her head down on her knees and cries.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
As with any large machine, this one will take time to reach full power.
If his calculations are correct - and they are - it should take fourteen hours to reach capacity. The current is strong, but it starts out weak, that's the key, that's what will keep it from overloading.
He grins, and sets his watch.
13:59.
Chapter 5
Top of Page
Chapter 7
Return to Master List