Stepping Out, Ch. 10
Title: Stepping Out
Author: ladyspock
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5000 (appx)
Summary: Fifteen year old Megamind has had it with prison life, and decides to strike out on his own. With Minion, of course.
Chapter summary: Megamind tracks down the bastard who kicked his ass and took his stuff. Also in this chapter, there will be less use of the word "armpit." (I think I used that word no less than three times in the last chapter.)
Author's notes: I really don't know where this Shadow character came from. When I finished the first draft of this story over a year ago, he wasn't in it at all. Then as I was revising, he just sort of muscled his way in, smirking.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9
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"Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril." -Oscar Wilde
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The cube was discovered glowing innocently on the receiving nurse's desk at the emergency room. No one knew how or when it had gotten there. There was a great deal of speculation on what might be contained within it, but since all previously known cubes always turned out to be dehydrated citizens, someone finally got up the nerve to add water. Logan Wannamaker materialized on the mat, sputtering and bewildered.
Logan was quite drunk, and had no idea how he had ended up as an infamous dehydrated cube, but was more than willing to explain to everyone that Connie had locked him out of the house.
Once it was clear, after much meandering discourse, that he was uninjured, the staff left him alone. Unfortunately, he showed little inclination to leave, even when an orderly offered to call him a cab, and even offered to pay for it.
He staggered around the waiting room, telling his story to anyone who was unlucky enough to be in his path, until both patients and staff heartily wished he would leave already.
Anne, one of the nurses, heard bits and pieces of his tale of woe as she came and went about her duties.
"...Polar North Warehouse, and, and, and I thought 'Hey! I use ta work there, man!' and I looked around in the truck and bam! I wake up, and there I am, the ol' stomping grounds..."
He'd cornered one of the orderlies, a young man who hadn't quite mastered the art of disengaging himself from uncomfortable conversations.
"...so I says, 'Connie, you gotta know, you got to know, she didn't mean nothin'..."
"But you said you were at your old work place, why did you think you were on Connie's street?" the young orderly said wearily.
Logan appeared unable to follow this line of reasoning. "So I went by the old fire station, you know, they're always sayin' they're fixing these old places up, waste of tax money you ask me, anyone'll tell you." He belched. "Nice picture on the wall. Nice horse painting."
The orderly, Benny, looked around in desperation, and Anne took pity on him. She walked over and said, "Why don't you sit down for a while, Mr. Wannamaker. You look tired."
After some urging, she got him to go sit in one of the waiting room chairs, and then she was called to the back room to help find their back up supply of bandages, but while she was searching, she began thinking to herself that there was only one way that Logan could have been dehydrated into a cube. He must have run into Megamind, insulted him, like maybe he'd thrown up on his shoes or something, and gotten shot with the de-gun.
Wasn't there a reward being offered for information leading to the capture of the alien?
Anne decided to engage Logan in conversation, unpleasant as that might be, but when she went out to the waiting room again, he was nowhere in sight. They'd been trying to get rid of him all night, now when she actually wanted to talk to him, he was gone.
She scowled in frustration and went to track down Benny.
"Benny, did that drunk guy take off?" she asked.
"Yeah, I got him to tell me his address and put him in a cab."
She sighed and looked off into the distance. There was no way in hell that she was going to go to the guy's house, for crying out loud. She thought about the things she'd overheard Logan say, about the Polar North Warehouse, and a wall with a big horse mural on it. Would any of that be of any use to the cops? She wasn't sure if phoning them with such vague second hand information would be much help. Would it be enough to get her the reward money, or at least a piece of it? She'd have to think about it for a while.
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"Give me that!" Megamind snapped, tearing the damp cloth out of Minion's hand. He peered into the rear view mirror and began cleaning the dried blood off his neck. "I can do it myself. I'm not an infant," he muttered.
Minion stared glumly out the windshield. What a disaster! And it had started out so well, too. What was going to be a simple robbery had turned into some kind of deadly vendetta. He had a nagging feeling that everything that had gone wrong tonight was somehow his fault. When those ice rays hit, nearly freezing the water in his bowl, it hurt, and the only thing on his mind was getting his hands on Freezer Burn and stopping the pain. He had no idea how much trouble Megamind was in until it was too late.
He shuddered. It was his job to serve and protect and Minion felt that he was not living up to expectations.
Minion tried again to get Megamind to see reason, or at least to do something less risky.
"We could ambush 'em right here," Minion said. "Don't have to follow him home."
Megamind examined his neck for any remaining traces of blood. The wound on his neck was dark red, scabbed over already, as neat and straight as a paper cut. He sat back in the seat and clasped his hands together in front of him, resting his forefingers against his chin. his knuckles were slightly purple from the cold. He'd thrown out the black gloves, along with his coat and all the clothes he'd been wearing, to make absolutely certain that Shadow had not planted any more tracking devices. He was wearing a slightly grungy sweatsuit that he'd dug out of the laundry bag.
"Poetic justice, Minion," he murmured. "He was going to follow me back to the hideout. But I will follow him to his." He returned to staring intently out the windshield. His cheek was swelling up and there was a bruise on the side of his head, compliments of Shadow. Minion had hinted broadly on the need to get some ice packs, hoping they could leave the premises. Megamind had simply pressed some snow on the injuries for a while.
This was a side to Megamind that Minion hadn't seen before. Minion was used to tirades, and hysterics, and declarations of rev-ahnge, but after the initial torrent of rage, Megamind had become deadly quiet. Minion wasn't sure how to handle this cold, evil silence. Megamind sat still, hardly even fidgeting. He didn't drum his hands on the wheel, or hum, or pick his teeth, or clean gunk out of the corners of his eyes, or any of the other hundred and one things he tended to do while being forced to wait. Once in a while he rubbed his shoulder and arm, the arm that Shadow had so cruelly twisted behind his back.
"Why don't you...let me take the wheel, Sir?" Minion casually asked. I can just sort of...try to follow, then, just sort of lose them...totally by accident, of course, could happen to anyone...
Megamind stared at Minion a little too long. Minion gulped and tried not to squirm.
"No, Minion, I think I will drive," said Megamind firmly, and returned his gaze to the SUV.
"He'll spot us," said Minion gloomily. "You've never tried to follow anyone by car before."
Megamind gave him a grim smile. "I plan on learning quickly, Minion."
Some people appeared from around the corner and walked toward the SUV. Megamind gripped the wheel.
The computer geek Brad was carrying his laptop. Freezer Burn was carrying a case. Shadow wasn't carrying anything. They got into the SUV and pulled out into the street.
"Here we go," said Megamind.
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When they got back to his apartment building, Shadow got of the SUV and exhaled. He ran a hand through his blond hair and took the pay packet out of his inner pocket.
"Don't spend it all in one place," he said. Freezer Burn chuckled. Shadow snatched the packet out of his reach and glared coldly at his lackey. "Seriously. Keep a low profile for a few days. Think you can handle that?"
Freezer Burn's lips tightened. He was still aching from the pummeling he'd gotten from Minion. His pride had taken a pounding, too. His freeze rays had never failed so disastrously before.
"Yeah," he said sullenly.
"Glad to hear you can handle something, anyway," Shadow said. He gave him the promised payment, and Freezer Burn went to his battered pickup truck. Shadow and Brad went into the building.
They took the elevator up. Shadow unlocked his apartment door and they both went inside.
"Clear the table. Let's see what we got," he ordered. Brad carefully scooped up the mess of papers, take-out containers, and other debris that covered the table and placed them on the cabinet. Shadow set the Tanaka case on the table and then shook out the other bag. He lined up all of Megamind's inventions, the electro-whip, the little cases that looked like they might be smoke bombs, the thing that Minion claimed could open any lock, and the other things. Shadow hadn't tried the key-o-matic, of course, since Minion might have been lying. He would have to examine and test every one of these devices to find out their proper uses.
He picked up Megamind's pocket notebook and flipped through some of the pages. There were several sketches of technical diagrams. And one page with several sketches of Megamind himself, each face sporting a different beard or mustache. Shadow scoffed and tossed the notebook down. "You go through this book soon, see if there's anything useful in it," he said. Brad nodded.
Brad reached for the gun with the over-sized barrel that had a double-pronged hook sticking out of it, eyes eager. Shadow smacked his hand away and glared at him.
"Ow," Brad mumbled, rubbing his hand.
"Get that tracking program started," Shadow snapped. While Brad set up his computer in the living room, Shadow turned his head, stretching his neck. He could feel the tension start to dissipate. He could finally relax. Now he could have a drink or two, and take care of his frayed nerves.
He looked at the table again. He had a feeling that he was missing something. He counted the gadgets again, but everything was there. He shook his head and went to the kitchen.
Shadow had wanted to wait until Bates was back in town before pulling the heist, but the buyer was getting so skittish that he didn't dare wait any longer. It should have been a fairly straightforward break-in, and it was until Megamind and Minion showed up.
Shadow was shocked that Freezer Burn's powers had been useless against that fish-cyborg, or whatever the hell it was. He knew he had to take control fast.
The little freak was quick; he was lucky he'd been able to trip him. Good thing he got a hold of him, too, because Shadow didn't have any other way of stopping Minion. He'd left his guns behind, thinking that Freezer Burn would be enough to handle any trouble with the security guards.
Admittedly, he'd been a little careless with the knife. He hadn't meant to actually cut him, but the night was getting old and they were behind schedule. Then that whole mess with Brad fainting! Shadow shook his head in annoyance. Well, he'd recruited Brad for his technological capabilities, not his fighting skills. It was getting late, they were wasting time, and Shadow couldn't spend the rest of the night babysitting everybody.
He was very pleased to have remembered the tracking devices. Actually, this had worked out for the best. Now he could take his time and plan how to capture the fugitives. Megamind would go crawling back to his hidey-hole and lick his wounds, and jump at the shadows for a few days, but in a week or two he would have let his guard down. Shadow would plan an ambush. He'd like to see what other goodies the little freak had come up with. Megamind had an impressive store of weapons and gadgets stuffed in his pockets. Imagine what else he might have tucked away in his den.
And he could consider his options. Turning him in for the reward was one possibility, but Shadow would have to find someone reliable to handle it for him. Or perhaps he could recruit him, make him an offer he couldn't refuse. Megamind's inventiveness would serve him well.
Or Shadow could sell him outright. There were companies run by people with very casual ethical standards who would love to get such a unique specimen into their labs. There were wealthy individuals with very casual ethical standards, too, who might be interested.
Yes, he could think of plenty of uses for Megamind. Controlling him was all a matter of finding the right leverage, and Shadow was an expert on controlling people, super-powered or not. Not that Megamind even had any powers, really. He might be clever with gadgets, but he wasn't much different from every other punk kid that Shadow had run across. Minion, now, Minion was a real problem. Much too protective, far too loyal. He would need to find a reliable way to control that fish or Minion would be more trouble than he was worth.
As he reached for the fridge handle, Shadow realized what had been bothering him.
The de-gun. Megamind didn't have it on him, and from the reports he always had it with him. There was no way Brad could have pocketed it. For one thing, Brad never would have tried anything as stupid as trying to hide something like that from Shadow, and for another, he couldn't pull a sleight of hand to save his life. Freezer Burn had been nowhere near them when Brad emptied Megamind's pockets so he couldn't have taken it either.
This was a troubling loose end, and Shadow didn't like loose ends.
"You got it running?" he asked loudly.
"Uh, yeah," Brad answered from the living room.
"Make sure to mark whenever they spend five minutes or more in any one place," he ordered. "They could have more than one hideout."
"Yeah, okay, but something weird is going on," said Brad. "It looks like he hasn't moved."
Shadow frowned. He took a beer out of the fridge. "Hasn't moved? You sure you---" He shut the door of the fridge.
Minion was standing behind the door.
Shadow was almost too surprised to move. Almost.
Shadow flung the beer bottle at Minion's face. Minion flinched, then struck. Shadow dodged Minion's punch, hurtling himself across the room. He grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, a pot, and flung it hard. Minion knocked it aside, and his other arm shot out like a viper and nearly snagged Shadow, but he twisted and got away. Then the other robotic fist caught him across the jaw and lifted him off his feet.
By the time the room stopped spinning, Minion had both Shadow's wrists trapped behind his back. Megamind stood before him, in a wrinkled black sweatsuit, pointing the de-gun at Shadow's face. The knife wound on his neck stood out like an extra little smile. There was a faint smell of old socks.
Megamind smiled. "Guns beat knives," he said cheerfully.
Shadow's face twisted. "Little boy, you just made the biggest mistake of your life," he said in a low and deadly voice.
Megamind chuckled. "Yes, well, believe me, I am just terrified. This isn't much of a lair, I must say. I mean, I would have expected an old airplane hangar, or an abandoned warehouse, complete with an evil training center, but an apartment?" Megamind gave the tiny kitchen an elaborate wide-eyed look. There were some urgent scuffling sounds coming from the living room and he looked around sharply. Megamind rushed down the hall, de-gun at the ready. Minion followed, hauling Shadow along.
Megamind found Brad hiding under the desk.
"Oh, it's the computer geek!" Megamind laughed. "Come on out now. Stand right there, hands behind your head, and don't make any sudden movements. Or any movements, really." He casually waved the de-gun around. Brad complied, Adam's apple bobbing like a cork.
I really should keep some rope handy for times like this, Megamind thought. He waved his arm experimentally, and frowned a little as the baggy shirtsleeve flapped back and forth. He just had to get a new wardrobe. He looked no better than some ragged street thug in this get-up. He walked over to the table where all of his precious inventions were laid out.
He picked up the whip, and shook his head over the hairline crack that ran down the length of the handle.
"I certainly hope you have been taking proper care of my inventions, or it will go hard with you," he said out loud.
"Everything's---everything's there, you can have 'em back, you---" Brad said nervously.
"Shut up," Shadow snarled.
Megamind chuckled. "Now, now, let's have some manners. I don't think there's any cause to go getting all worked up."
"So how'd you get in the building without your precious little tools?" Shadow demanded.
"Oh, we just pressed all the buzzers until some---" Minion said brightly.
"Minion!" Megamind snapped. Minion shut his mouth. Megamind scowled for a second, then his mocking smile returned.
"Wouldn't you like to know!" he said, sneering. "I have a host of skills at my disposal of which you know nothing. My secrets are my own, you understand. No doubt you must have secrets of your own that you wish to keep to yourself."
Shadow was very still.
Megamind walked slowly around the table, looking at the Tanaka case with interest. "And I am afraid that I shall have to relieve you of your hard-won prize from Tanaka Industries," he said, running his hand possessively over the case.
The cords of Shadow's neck stood out. "Don't even think about touching that case, you rotten little blue freak, you bet---agk!" His face went white and he sucked in his breath as Minion increased the pressure.
Megamind stalked toward Shadow, smirking. "I strongly suggest that the next sentence out of your mouth does not contain the words 'little', 'blue', or 'freak'," he said. "Minion might get upset."
"Damn right," muttered Minion. He stopped twisting Shadow's arm just enough to stop the pain and the man regained a more normal color.
Megamind spun on his heel and strode over to the desk. He raised a mocking eyebrow in Shadow's direction. "Now, if I had a secret identity, and I didn't want to risk anybody finding out, I probably would not bring my ID or my wallet along on an important mission, would I? It might get dropped."
A muscle jumped in Shadow's jaw.
"So where would I leave it? In my desk?" Megamind tugged on a couple of drawers. They were sticky and didn't open right away. Megamind stuck the de-gun in his waistband to free his hands and wrenched the drawers open with a grunt. "I think I would. Well, what do you know, here it is!" He spun around, grinning evilly, flourishing a wallet.
And it all went pear-shaped.
Shadow twisted. His feet climbed the end table and somehow he flipped himself over into a somersault, launching himself right out of Minion's grip. The sudden violent movement threw Minion off balance and his arms pinwheeled wildly. Megamind gasped, dropped the wallet, and fumbled at his waist.
Shadow leaped.
Megamind barely drew the de-gun in time. He pulled the trigger. There was a flash of light.
The force of Shadow's trajectory was so strong that the cube continued on its course and bounced off Megamind's head. It landed on the carpet.
Megamind held the de-gun up, panting, eyes wide. Minion's mouth was hanging open.
Brad was doubled over, cringing. At the lack of screams, he carefully opened one eye and, once he'd established who the victor was, slowly straightened up again, keeping his hands behind his head.
Megamind swallowed hard and glared at the gaping Minion.
"Your hands get sweaty?" he said acidly.
"I don't know what happened!" Minion cried. "Nobody ever broke free before!"
Megamind exhaled and lowered the gun. "Well. Well. Just...don't let it happen again." He bent over to pick up the wallet.
Minion scowled at Brad. "I hope you don't get any ideas," he warned.
"Not me," Brad said hurriedly. "Look...guys...the stuff's all right over there. Take it, just take it. And...and just go?"
Megamind glared at him. "I will decide when I am ready to leave, if you don't mind," he said imperiously. He glared at the blue cube glowing on the floor. His lip curled and he kicked it across the carpeting. It rolled all the way out to the hallway before coming to a stop. "So, what's the big secret? No doubt he's an upstanding, well-known businessman in the community. Undoubtedly some public persona in which he would not want it known that he goes around at night dressed like a ninja. Maybe he's the mayor's nephew!"
Minion chuckled. "Yeah, wouldn't that beat all!"
Megamind pulled out the driver's license. "Edward Corbin. Not a bad photo."
He looked at the rest of the contents of the wallet. There was another leather cardholder. He flipped it open.
Minion leaned toward the glassy-eyed Brad. "I don't think you have anything to worry about," he murmured. Brad stared at him blankly. Minion gave him a reassuring, pointy-toothed grin. "You were just following orders. I know how it goes," Minion said, winking. "And Sir's not that vindictive, really, he'll be finished in a bit. Then I'm sure you can go," he said, wanting to reassure Brad that the inconvenience of the hostage situation would be over momentarily, with a minimum of any further discomfort.
Megamind stared at the badge---and there was no question about it, it was definitely a badge---for a while. He turned the cardholder over a couple of times and read the ID card again. No, the words were still there. They read:
Edward Corbin. Field Agent. Department of Paranormal Investigations. United States Government.
Megamind swayed, and groped for the edge of the desk. He looked around the once-ordinary apartment. The shadows in the corner were darker, and they could be hiding anything.
He swallowed. "Um, Minion," he croaked, and coughed a bit to clear his throat, and held up the badge for Minion to see.
Minion stared. He snatched the cardholder from Megamind's nerveless fingers. "A forgery," he said after a moment. "It's a fake, right?" he said hopefully.
"Well, no, because the little holographic picture in the corner, this symbol here, see?" said Megamind, his voice beginning to ratchet up an octave, "Remember Cal? He said... he said...he said that the new holographic images they started putting on everything are impossible for counterfeiting hacks to reproduce...counterfeiters can't...oh my God, he's a FED," Megamind whispered hoarsely.
Minion turned on the cringing Brad and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "Hey. Hey, this is a fake, right?" he growled.
"I can't say, I can't say," Brad groaned. "He'll kill me."
Megamind and Minion looked at each other in growing horror. Then, as one, they charged over to the table. In his hurry, Minion knocked Brad over. Brad clasped his hands over his head and curled up in a ball on the floor.
"The whole place is probably wired for sound! Cameras everywhere! They'll be here any second! Get the thing, get the thing, no, the other thing!"
"But, Sir, what about the...the cube?"
"Don't touch it!"
They pounded down the hallway. The door crashed open. Brad cautiously raised his head,
then he heard the elderly neighbor's voice.
"You kids better knock off that racket! People are trying to sleep!" There was a squawk, and more pounding footsteps as Megamind and Minion fled down the stairs.
"Well!" said the outraged elderly voice, getting closer. "How rude! Mr. Corbin, you really must remind your friends..."
Brad grimaced. Oh, great. Now the old bat was coming in. He hurried to intercept her, but she was already standing in the apartment's hallway, staring at the little blue cube glowing on the floor.
"Bradley! What is going on in here! Where is Mr. Corbin!" she demanded. She looked back at the cube. "Is that..."
"Uh, Mrs. Kindler, uh, we, Ed, I mean, had a break-in."
Mrs. Kindler gasped. "Well, don't just stand there! Call the police!" Another thought occurred to her. "Was that who pushed past me in the HALL?" she shrieked. "Where's Fluffy? Fluffy!" she cried, rushing back to her apartment.
Worried about some stupid cat, Brad thought, huffing out a breath and running a hand through his hair. He looked sideways at the cube and a cunning look passed over his face.
He imagined snatching up the cube, pocketing it, and leaving it, oh, nowhere in particular. For a few wild, glorious seconds he fantasized about getting out from Shadow's thumb. Brad imagined telling the agents who would come looking for him that why no, he hadn't seen Ed Corbin at all, really, he had no idea where he was.
But the nightmarish thought arose that someday, somehow, Corbin would re-hydrate, and would come looking for him, and he would be pissed.
Besides, Mrs. Kindler had seen it. And she was off to phone the cops now, probably, as soon as she found her cat. Brad had better see this thing through.
He sighed and went to get a glass of water to re-hydrate Corbin, so they would have time to get their story straight before Mrs. Kindler came back and the cops came. Let's see, they were watching a movie marathon, were ordering a pizza, and, geez, Megamind comes through the door...yeah, that sounded good.
He hoped that Corbin wasn't still in attack mode when he reappeared.
Author: ladyspock
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 5000 (appx)
Summary: Fifteen year old Megamind has had it with prison life, and decides to strike out on his own. With Minion, of course.
Chapter summary: Megamind tracks down the bastard who kicked his ass and took his stuff. Also in this chapter, there will be less use of the word "armpit." (I think I used that word no less than three times in the last chapter.)
Author's notes: I really don't know where this Shadow character came from. When I finished the first draft of this story over a year ago, he wasn't in it at all. Then as I was revising, he just sort of muscled his way in, smirking.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9
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"Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril." -Oscar Wilde
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The cube was discovered glowing innocently on the receiving nurse's desk at the emergency room. No one knew how or when it had gotten there. There was a great deal of speculation on what might be contained within it, but since all previously known cubes always turned out to be dehydrated citizens, someone finally got up the nerve to add water. Logan Wannamaker materialized on the mat, sputtering and bewildered.
Logan was quite drunk, and had no idea how he had ended up as an infamous dehydrated cube, but was more than willing to explain to everyone that Connie had locked him out of the house.
Once it was clear, after much meandering discourse, that he was uninjured, the staff left him alone. Unfortunately, he showed little inclination to leave, even when an orderly offered to call him a cab, and even offered to pay for it.
He staggered around the waiting room, telling his story to anyone who was unlucky enough to be in his path, until both patients and staff heartily wished he would leave already.
Anne, one of the nurses, heard bits and pieces of his tale of woe as she came and went about her duties.
"...Polar North Warehouse, and, and, and I thought 'Hey! I use ta work there, man!' and I looked around in the truck and bam! I wake up, and there I am, the ol' stomping grounds..."
He'd cornered one of the orderlies, a young man who hadn't quite mastered the art of disengaging himself from uncomfortable conversations.
"...so I says, 'Connie, you gotta know, you got to know, she didn't mean nothin'..."
"But you said you were at your old work place, why did you think you were on Connie's street?" the young orderly said wearily.
Logan appeared unable to follow this line of reasoning. "So I went by the old fire station, you know, they're always sayin' they're fixing these old places up, waste of tax money you ask me, anyone'll tell you." He belched. "Nice picture on the wall. Nice horse painting."
The orderly, Benny, looked around in desperation, and Anne took pity on him. She walked over and said, "Why don't you sit down for a while, Mr. Wannamaker. You look tired."
After some urging, she got him to go sit in one of the waiting room chairs, and then she was called to the back room to help find their back up supply of bandages, but while she was searching, she began thinking to herself that there was only one way that Logan could have been dehydrated into a cube. He must have run into Megamind, insulted him, like maybe he'd thrown up on his shoes or something, and gotten shot with the de-gun.
Wasn't there a reward being offered for information leading to the capture of the alien?
Anne decided to engage Logan in conversation, unpleasant as that might be, but when she went out to the waiting room again, he was nowhere in sight. They'd been trying to get rid of him all night, now when she actually wanted to talk to him, he was gone.
She scowled in frustration and went to track down Benny.
"Benny, did that drunk guy take off?" she asked.
"Yeah, I got him to tell me his address and put him in a cab."
She sighed and looked off into the distance. There was no way in hell that she was going to go to the guy's house, for crying out loud. She thought about the things she'd overheard Logan say, about the Polar North Warehouse, and a wall with a big horse mural on it. Would any of that be of any use to the cops? She wasn't sure if phoning them with such vague second hand information would be much help. Would it be enough to get her the reward money, or at least a piece of it? She'd have to think about it for a while.
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"Give me that!" Megamind snapped, tearing the damp cloth out of Minion's hand. He peered into the rear view mirror and began cleaning the dried blood off his neck. "I can do it myself. I'm not an infant," he muttered.
Minion stared glumly out the windshield. What a disaster! And it had started out so well, too. What was going to be a simple robbery had turned into some kind of deadly vendetta. He had a nagging feeling that everything that had gone wrong tonight was somehow his fault. When those ice rays hit, nearly freezing the water in his bowl, it hurt, and the only thing on his mind was getting his hands on Freezer Burn and stopping the pain. He had no idea how much trouble Megamind was in until it was too late.
He shuddered. It was his job to serve and protect and Minion felt that he was not living up to expectations.
Minion tried again to get Megamind to see reason, or at least to do something less risky.
"We could ambush 'em right here," Minion said. "Don't have to follow him home."
Megamind examined his neck for any remaining traces of blood. The wound on his neck was dark red, scabbed over already, as neat and straight as a paper cut. He sat back in the seat and clasped his hands together in front of him, resting his forefingers against his chin. his knuckles were slightly purple from the cold. He'd thrown out the black gloves, along with his coat and all the clothes he'd been wearing, to make absolutely certain that Shadow had not planted any more tracking devices. He was wearing a slightly grungy sweatsuit that he'd dug out of the laundry bag.
"Poetic justice, Minion," he murmured. "He was going to follow me back to the hideout. But I will follow him to his." He returned to staring intently out the windshield. His cheek was swelling up and there was a bruise on the side of his head, compliments of Shadow. Minion had hinted broadly on the need to get some ice packs, hoping they could leave the premises. Megamind had simply pressed some snow on the injuries for a while.
This was a side to Megamind that Minion hadn't seen before. Minion was used to tirades, and hysterics, and declarations of rev-ahnge, but after the initial torrent of rage, Megamind had become deadly quiet. Minion wasn't sure how to handle this cold, evil silence. Megamind sat still, hardly even fidgeting. He didn't drum his hands on the wheel, or hum, or pick his teeth, or clean gunk out of the corners of his eyes, or any of the other hundred and one things he tended to do while being forced to wait. Once in a while he rubbed his shoulder and arm, the arm that Shadow had so cruelly twisted behind his back.
"Why don't you...let me take the wheel, Sir?" Minion casually asked. I can just sort of...try to follow, then, just sort of lose them...totally by accident, of course, could happen to anyone...
Megamind stared at Minion a little too long. Minion gulped and tried not to squirm.
"No, Minion, I think I will drive," said Megamind firmly, and returned his gaze to the SUV.
"He'll spot us," said Minion gloomily. "You've never tried to follow anyone by car before."
Megamind gave him a grim smile. "I plan on learning quickly, Minion."
Some people appeared from around the corner and walked toward the SUV. Megamind gripped the wheel.
The computer geek Brad was carrying his laptop. Freezer Burn was carrying a case. Shadow wasn't carrying anything. They got into the SUV and pulled out into the street.
"Here we go," said Megamind.
-----------------------------------------
When they got back to his apartment building, Shadow got of the SUV and exhaled. He ran a hand through his blond hair and took the pay packet out of his inner pocket.
"Don't spend it all in one place," he said. Freezer Burn chuckled. Shadow snatched the packet out of his reach and glared coldly at his lackey. "Seriously. Keep a low profile for a few days. Think you can handle that?"
Freezer Burn's lips tightened. He was still aching from the pummeling he'd gotten from Minion. His pride had taken a pounding, too. His freeze rays had never failed so disastrously before.
"Yeah," he said sullenly.
"Glad to hear you can handle something, anyway," Shadow said. He gave him the promised payment, and Freezer Burn went to his battered pickup truck. Shadow and Brad went into the building.
They took the elevator up. Shadow unlocked his apartment door and they both went inside.
"Clear the table. Let's see what we got," he ordered. Brad carefully scooped up the mess of papers, take-out containers, and other debris that covered the table and placed them on the cabinet. Shadow set the Tanaka case on the table and then shook out the other bag. He lined up all of Megamind's inventions, the electro-whip, the little cases that looked like they might be smoke bombs, the thing that Minion claimed could open any lock, and the other things. Shadow hadn't tried the key-o-matic, of course, since Minion might have been lying. He would have to examine and test every one of these devices to find out their proper uses.
He picked up Megamind's pocket notebook and flipped through some of the pages. There were several sketches of technical diagrams. And one page with several sketches of Megamind himself, each face sporting a different beard or mustache. Shadow scoffed and tossed the notebook down. "You go through this book soon, see if there's anything useful in it," he said. Brad nodded.
Brad reached for the gun with the over-sized barrel that had a double-pronged hook sticking out of it, eyes eager. Shadow smacked his hand away and glared at him.
"Ow," Brad mumbled, rubbing his hand.
"Get that tracking program started," Shadow snapped. While Brad set up his computer in the living room, Shadow turned his head, stretching his neck. He could feel the tension start to dissipate. He could finally relax. Now he could have a drink or two, and take care of his frayed nerves.
He looked at the table again. He had a feeling that he was missing something. He counted the gadgets again, but everything was there. He shook his head and went to the kitchen.
Shadow had wanted to wait until Bates was back in town before pulling the heist, but the buyer was getting so skittish that he didn't dare wait any longer. It should have been a fairly straightforward break-in, and it was until Megamind and Minion showed up.
Shadow was shocked that Freezer Burn's powers had been useless against that fish-cyborg, or whatever the hell it was. He knew he had to take control fast.
The little freak was quick; he was lucky he'd been able to trip him. Good thing he got a hold of him, too, because Shadow didn't have any other way of stopping Minion. He'd left his guns behind, thinking that Freezer Burn would be enough to handle any trouble with the security guards.
Admittedly, he'd been a little careless with the knife. He hadn't meant to actually cut him, but the night was getting old and they were behind schedule. Then that whole mess with Brad fainting! Shadow shook his head in annoyance. Well, he'd recruited Brad for his technological capabilities, not his fighting skills. It was getting late, they were wasting time, and Shadow couldn't spend the rest of the night babysitting everybody.
He was very pleased to have remembered the tracking devices. Actually, this had worked out for the best. Now he could take his time and plan how to capture the fugitives. Megamind would go crawling back to his hidey-hole and lick his wounds, and jump at the shadows for a few days, but in a week or two he would have let his guard down. Shadow would plan an ambush. He'd like to see what other goodies the little freak had come up with. Megamind had an impressive store of weapons and gadgets stuffed in his pockets. Imagine what else he might have tucked away in his den.
And he could consider his options. Turning him in for the reward was one possibility, but Shadow would have to find someone reliable to handle it for him. Or perhaps he could recruit him, make him an offer he couldn't refuse. Megamind's inventiveness would serve him well.
Or Shadow could sell him outright. There were companies run by people with very casual ethical standards who would love to get such a unique specimen into their labs. There were wealthy individuals with very casual ethical standards, too, who might be interested.
Yes, he could think of plenty of uses for Megamind. Controlling him was all a matter of finding the right leverage, and Shadow was an expert on controlling people, super-powered or not. Not that Megamind even had any powers, really. He might be clever with gadgets, but he wasn't much different from every other punk kid that Shadow had run across. Minion, now, Minion was a real problem. Much too protective, far too loyal. He would need to find a reliable way to control that fish or Minion would be more trouble than he was worth.
As he reached for the fridge handle, Shadow realized what had been bothering him.
The de-gun. Megamind didn't have it on him, and from the reports he always had it with him. There was no way Brad could have pocketed it. For one thing, Brad never would have tried anything as stupid as trying to hide something like that from Shadow, and for another, he couldn't pull a sleight of hand to save his life. Freezer Burn had been nowhere near them when Brad emptied Megamind's pockets so he couldn't have taken it either.
This was a troubling loose end, and Shadow didn't like loose ends.
"You got it running?" he asked loudly.
"Uh, yeah," Brad answered from the living room.
"Make sure to mark whenever they spend five minutes or more in any one place," he ordered. "They could have more than one hideout."
"Yeah, okay, but something weird is going on," said Brad. "It looks like he hasn't moved."
Shadow frowned. He took a beer out of the fridge. "Hasn't moved? You sure you---" He shut the door of the fridge.
Minion was standing behind the door.
Shadow was almost too surprised to move. Almost.
Shadow flung the beer bottle at Minion's face. Minion flinched, then struck. Shadow dodged Minion's punch, hurtling himself across the room. He grabbed the first thing he could get his hands on, a pot, and flung it hard. Minion knocked it aside, and his other arm shot out like a viper and nearly snagged Shadow, but he twisted and got away. Then the other robotic fist caught him across the jaw and lifted him off his feet.
By the time the room stopped spinning, Minion had both Shadow's wrists trapped behind his back. Megamind stood before him, in a wrinkled black sweatsuit, pointing the de-gun at Shadow's face. The knife wound on his neck stood out like an extra little smile. There was a faint smell of old socks.
Megamind smiled. "Guns beat knives," he said cheerfully.
Shadow's face twisted. "Little boy, you just made the biggest mistake of your life," he said in a low and deadly voice.
Megamind chuckled. "Yes, well, believe me, I am just terrified. This isn't much of a lair, I must say. I mean, I would have expected an old airplane hangar, or an abandoned warehouse, complete with an evil training center, but an apartment?" Megamind gave the tiny kitchen an elaborate wide-eyed look. There were some urgent scuffling sounds coming from the living room and he looked around sharply. Megamind rushed down the hall, de-gun at the ready. Minion followed, hauling Shadow along.
Megamind found Brad hiding under the desk.
"Oh, it's the computer geek!" Megamind laughed. "Come on out now. Stand right there, hands behind your head, and don't make any sudden movements. Or any movements, really." He casually waved the de-gun around. Brad complied, Adam's apple bobbing like a cork.
I really should keep some rope handy for times like this, Megamind thought. He waved his arm experimentally, and frowned a little as the baggy shirtsleeve flapped back and forth. He just had to get a new wardrobe. He looked no better than some ragged street thug in this get-up. He walked over to the table where all of his precious inventions were laid out.
He picked up the whip, and shook his head over the hairline crack that ran down the length of the handle.
"I certainly hope you have been taking proper care of my inventions, or it will go hard with you," he said out loud.
"Everything's---everything's there, you can have 'em back, you---" Brad said nervously.
"Shut up," Shadow snarled.
Megamind chuckled. "Now, now, let's have some manners. I don't think there's any cause to go getting all worked up."
"So how'd you get in the building without your precious little tools?" Shadow demanded.
"Oh, we just pressed all the buzzers until some---" Minion said brightly.
"Minion!" Megamind snapped. Minion shut his mouth. Megamind scowled for a second, then his mocking smile returned.
"Wouldn't you like to know!" he said, sneering. "I have a host of skills at my disposal of which you know nothing. My secrets are my own, you understand. No doubt you must have secrets of your own that you wish to keep to yourself."
Shadow was very still.
Megamind walked slowly around the table, looking at the Tanaka case with interest. "And I am afraid that I shall have to relieve you of your hard-won prize from Tanaka Industries," he said, running his hand possessively over the case.
The cords of Shadow's neck stood out. "Don't even think about touching that case, you rotten little blue freak, you bet---agk!" His face went white and he sucked in his breath as Minion increased the pressure.
Megamind stalked toward Shadow, smirking. "I strongly suggest that the next sentence out of your mouth does not contain the words 'little', 'blue', or 'freak'," he said. "Minion might get upset."
"Damn right," muttered Minion. He stopped twisting Shadow's arm just enough to stop the pain and the man regained a more normal color.
Megamind spun on his heel and strode over to the desk. He raised a mocking eyebrow in Shadow's direction. "Now, if I had a secret identity, and I didn't want to risk anybody finding out, I probably would not bring my ID or my wallet along on an important mission, would I? It might get dropped."
A muscle jumped in Shadow's jaw.
"So where would I leave it? In my desk?" Megamind tugged on a couple of drawers. They were sticky and didn't open right away. Megamind stuck the de-gun in his waistband to free his hands and wrenched the drawers open with a grunt. "I think I would. Well, what do you know, here it is!" He spun around, grinning evilly, flourishing a wallet.
And it all went pear-shaped.
Shadow twisted. His feet climbed the end table and somehow he flipped himself over into a somersault, launching himself right out of Minion's grip. The sudden violent movement threw Minion off balance and his arms pinwheeled wildly. Megamind gasped, dropped the wallet, and fumbled at his waist.
Shadow leaped.
Megamind barely drew the de-gun in time. He pulled the trigger. There was a flash of light.
The force of Shadow's trajectory was so strong that the cube continued on its course and bounced off Megamind's head. It landed on the carpet.
Megamind held the de-gun up, panting, eyes wide. Minion's mouth was hanging open.
Brad was doubled over, cringing. At the lack of screams, he carefully opened one eye and, once he'd established who the victor was, slowly straightened up again, keeping his hands behind his head.
Megamind swallowed hard and glared at the gaping Minion.
"Your hands get sweaty?" he said acidly.
"I don't know what happened!" Minion cried. "Nobody ever broke free before!"
Megamind exhaled and lowered the gun. "Well. Well. Just...don't let it happen again." He bent over to pick up the wallet.
Minion scowled at Brad. "I hope you don't get any ideas," he warned.
"Not me," Brad said hurriedly. "Look...guys...the stuff's all right over there. Take it, just take it. And...and just go?"
Megamind glared at him. "I will decide when I am ready to leave, if you don't mind," he said imperiously. He glared at the blue cube glowing on the floor. His lip curled and he kicked it across the carpeting. It rolled all the way out to the hallway before coming to a stop. "So, what's the big secret? No doubt he's an upstanding, well-known businessman in the community. Undoubtedly some public persona in which he would not want it known that he goes around at night dressed like a ninja. Maybe he's the mayor's nephew!"
Minion chuckled. "Yeah, wouldn't that beat all!"
Megamind pulled out the driver's license. "Edward Corbin. Not a bad photo."
He looked at the rest of the contents of the wallet. There was another leather cardholder. He flipped it open.
Minion leaned toward the glassy-eyed Brad. "I don't think you have anything to worry about," he murmured. Brad stared at him blankly. Minion gave him a reassuring, pointy-toothed grin. "You were just following orders. I know how it goes," Minion said, winking. "And Sir's not that vindictive, really, he'll be finished in a bit. Then I'm sure you can go," he said, wanting to reassure Brad that the inconvenience of the hostage situation would be over momentarily, with a minimum of any further discomfort.
Megamind stared at the badge---and there was no question about it, it was definitely a badge---for a while. He turned the cardholder over a couple of times and read the ID card again. No, the words were still there. They read:
Edward Corbin. Field Agent. Department of Paranormal Investigations. United States Government.
Megamind swayed, and groped for the edge of the desk. He looked around the once-ordinary apartment. The shadows in the corner were darker, and they could be hiding anything.
He swallowed. "Um, Minion," he croaked, and coughed a bit to clear his throat, and held up the badge for Minion to see.
Minion stared. He snatched the cardholder from Megamind's nerveless fingers. "A forgery," he said after a moment. "It's a fake, right?" he said hopefully.
"Well, no, because the little holographic picture in the corner, this symbol here, see?" said Megamind, his voice beginning to ratchet up an octave, "Remember Cal? He said... he said...he said that the new holographic images they started putting on everything are impossible for counterfeiting hacks to reproduce...counterfeiters can't...oh my God, he's a FED," Megamind whispered hoarsely.
Minion turned on the cringing Brad and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "Hey. Hey, this is a fake, right?" he growled.
"I can't say, I can't say," Brad groaned. "He'll kill me."
Megamind and Minion looked at each other in growing horror. Then, as one, they charged over to the table. In his hurry, Minion knocked Brad over. Brad clasped his hands over his head and curled up in a ball on the floor.
"The whole place is probably wired for sound! Cameras everywhere! They'll be here any second! Get the thing, get the thing, no, the other thing!"
"But, Sir, what about the...the cube?"
"Don't touch it!"
They pounded down the hallway. The door crashed open. Brad cautiously raised his head,
then he heard the elderly neighbor's voice.
"You kids better knock off that racket! People are trying to sleep!" There was a squawk, and more pounding footsteps as Megamind and Minion fled down the stairs.
"Well!" said the outraged elderly voice, getting closer. "How rude! Mr. Corbin, you really must remind your friends..."
Brad grimaced. Oh, great. Now the old bat was coming in. He hurried to intercept her, but she was already standing in the apartment's hallway, staring at the little blue cube glowing on the floor.
"Bradley! What is going on in here! Where is Mr. Corbin!" she demanded. She looked back at the cube. "Is that..."
"Uh, Mrs. Kindler, uh, we, Ed, I mean, had a break-in."
Mrs. Kindler gasped. "Well, don't just stand there! Call the police!" Another thought occurred to her. "Was that who pushed past me in the HALL?" she shrieked. "Where's Fluffy? Fluffy!" she cried, rushing back to her apartment.
Worried about some stupid cat, Brad thought, huffing out a breath and running a hand through his hair. He looked sideways at the cube and a cunning look passed over his face.
He imagined snatching up the cube, pocketing it, and leaving it, oh, nowhere in particular. For a few wild, glorious seconds he fantasized about getting out from Shadow's thumb. Brad imagined telling the agents who would come looking for him that why no, he hadn't seen Ed Corbin at all, really, he had no idea where he was.
But the nightmarish thought arose that someday, somehow, Corbin would re-hydrate, and would come looking for him, and he would be pissed.
Besides, Mrs. Kindler had seen it. And she was off to phone the cops now, probably, as soon as she found her cat. Brad had better see this thing through.
He sighed and went to get a glass of water to re-hydrate Corbin, so they would have time to get their story straight before Mrs. Kindler came back and the cops came. Let's see, they were watching a movie marathon, were ordering a pizza, and, geez, Megamind comes through the door...yeah, that sounded good.
He hoped that Corbin wasn't still in attack mode when he reappeared.