Fic: Keep Him Secret, Keep Him Safe
Title: Keep Him Secret, Keep Him Safe
Authors: Raggedpelt
Summary: Why was a baby raised in a prison? A short fic from the perspective of the Warden when Megamind was still a baby.
Wordcount: 519
Rating: PG
Other notes: Very short, but it's an idea I've been toying with for a while. This fits into the "Nemesis Theory" continuity, but makes sense as a stand-alone fic too.
****
"You're claiming that's all there was?" the young agent asked, giving him a skeptical look.
"Yes," Jim Warden replied, narrowing his eyes in return, "I've given you absolutely everything we have. Will the investigation be completed soon? It'll quickly become a human rights issue if I can't give prisoners access to their exercise yard."
"According to the report I got, there was something alive in the capsule."
Jim gave a dismissive wave of his hand, "People will say anything if it makes a good story. This thing probably doesn't have any 'extraterrestrial origin' at all. Has 'science fair experiment gone wrong' written all over it if you ask me."
"Mr. Warden," the agent said in a clipped tone, "Nobody asked you. And if you are withholding any information related to this investigation-."
"-It's a criminal offense, I know," he replied, arching an eyebrow, "I am the warden of this facility, you realize? I have considerable knowledge of the criminal justice system."
The agent shook his head, and handed Jim yet another card, "Well, if you find whatever that creature was, call me and we'll send a team out to collect it. The scientific data that could be gained--"
"I'll call," he replied, cutting him short.
****
Once he was sure that the government goons had left, the warden walked down to the modified cell where the azure-skinned child was being kept. If he had to guess, he would have pegged the infant at being a few months old, but there was no way to know for sure. Right now, he (at least, they were fairly certain it was a "he") was sleeping peacefully, hugging the globe that contained his fish.
There wasn't much that could be done about the situation. If those lab rats got their hands on the kid, who knows what they would do to him? Experiments, vivisection… Jim hated to think about it. The kid was obviously intelligent; the tyke had masterminded a break-out already. It wouldn't be like they were toying with some dumb animal that didn't know what was happening to it.
As much as he hated technically being on the wrong side of the law, Jim couldn't do it. There was no way he was handing this little guy over. It wasn't right. But what else could he do, raise him here of all places? Moral issues aside, that was going to be a logistical headache. You couldn't have a little kid in with these hardened criminals. To even try to make this work, he'd have to keep the little guy in solitary, and what kind of life would that be?
The warden stroked his chin, considering it. …They could make it work. He was buddies with the head of the education board, so something could likely be figured out for educating the kid. Keeping him separate from the inmate population from now on wouldn't be too hard (and to be fair, the prisoners he'd caught hiding the kid in their cell didn't appear to have hurt him any).
The warden turned and walked off. He had some phone calls to make.