Expect the Unexpected, Chapter Four, part two
Title: Expect the Unexpected, chapter four, part two (ending with the icky part that should have the warning, at least on FFn)
Author: sevandor (Sevandor1 on fanfiction.net)
Rating: PG-14
Summary: On the day of Titan/Tighten’s defeat, Roxanne Ritchi learns that “predictable” isn’t always what you expect. Chapter Four: A flashback to Roxanne’s past, which she’s now remembering for real. Roxanne, Megamind, Metro Man, uglybots (early prototype brainbots), icky OCs.
Chapter One: community.livejournal.com/megamind_movie/348523.html
Chapter Two: community.livejournal.com/megamind_movie/358346.html
Chapter Three: community.livejournal.com/megamind_movie/365427.html#cutid1
Chapter Four, part one: community.livejournal.com/megamind_movie/375649.html#cutid1
As dusk was falling outside, the inside of the grungy abandoned tannery was pretty dark. It took Roxanne a few precious minutes to find the staircase with the access ladder to the roof, but when she finally made it, she knew all the effort was worth it. Though the sun had just gone down, the sky was still quite bright, shining in gold and scarlet over the ocean-like vista of Lake Michigan. Against this flaming backdrop, she could get clear shots of Megamind at work, directing his flying uglybots in placing their web of wires and what certainly looked like explosives all across the tops of the buildings around the foundry.
While she snapped away, swapping the ordinary telephoto for the one with the night vision capabilities, it occurred to Roxanne that if demolition was the blue guy's intent, setting the charges on the roofs made no sense. Explosives were usually placed on support structures, from what she knew, and the only supports on the rooftops were those from long gone water towers and maybe the pseudo-villain's back brace. Wearing that huge head prosthetic had to wreak havoc with his sacroiliac. Well, maybe the urban renewal idea wasn't the plan, just some showy special effects blasts to make it look as if Rustville was about to be leveled.
The light was beginning to fade from the western sky when a wimpy little firework was shot off from one of the offshore barges, warning the audience that the show would begin in twenty minutes. A cackle of delight drifted across the roofs to Roxanne's ears, causing her to wonder if this Megamind guy thought something was funny, or if he was just warming up for the coming performance. Whatever the case, Roxanne was ready. She was going to get conclusive proof, once and for all.
She was not surprised, then, when just as Megamind hopped onto some odd sort of vaguely surfboard-like flying device and lifted up from the rooftop, a streak of white and gold appeared from somewhere in the east, the familiar figure of Metro Man showing up in time for the entertainment to commence. What surprised her was the fact that they didn't go right into the show. Instead, Metro Man flew up to the now airborne Megamind and stopped in front of him, hovering with arms crossed like a parent staring down a misbehaving child.
"Not this year, Megamind," she clearly heard him say in a stentorian baritone, even though there was no audience that he knew of to hear. "You promised you wouldn't interfere again with the city's patriotic fireworks display after last year's fiasco!"
She could hear the sneer in the villain's voice as she saw it on his face through her telephoto lens. God, the guy had his part down perfect, right to the mocking curl of the lip. He planted one fist on a skinny hip and waved his other hand in Metro Man's face. "I promised with my fingers crossed!" he taunted, and she could see that he was indeed doing just that with his black-gloved fingers. "Just like you did when you promised you wouldn't take me to prison on my birthday!"
"Justice doesn't cross its fingers - that was jail, not prison," the hero rejoined with impeccable logic. "And you didn't tell me it was your birthday!"
Roxanne would have to check her images later to see if Megamind really did stick out his tongue. "That's because it was none of your beeznest!"
"It's business, and I'm just about to put you out of it!"
"Oh, that was a snappy comeback, Mister Chairman of the Board! Tell me, Waaaayyyyne, does your entire family fortune come from hair care products? Are you the biggest stockholder or the biggest customer?"
Metro Man snorted and struck a pose, jutting out his considerable chin. "You're just jealous because evil has no hair and must stand naked before Justice!"
"And maybe you're just jealous because I can do better things with my time than wasting it standing in front of a mirror, pimping my hair!"
"It's primping, and good doesn't primp, it grooms to maintain a clean image!"
"Oh, la-di-da, I'm so humiliated! I just don't know how I find the time to think up clever banter for a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent!" While he'd been speaking, the blue villain had been slowly maneuvering his hover device so that he was now ringed by the flying uglybots.
The hero changed his own position but maintained his intimidating pose. "You're not going to get away with this!" he warned, not the greatest comeback, but at least to the point for a change.
"Just watch me!" came the gleeful retort as Megamind suddenly zipped off, a cloud of the little uglybots about him, his black cape billowing behind like a huge bat's wing. Roxanne wasn't sure where he was headed, but she suspected it had something to do with his plans for interfering with the lakefront festivities. He held up one hand, aiming a remote at something on one of the rooftops; it went flying a moment later when a quick zap of Metro Man's laser vision knocked it from his grasp and sent it spinning off into the night.
Annoyed by the loss of his control device, the blue guy yelled something she couldn't quite catch to the uglybots, half of which flew off in different directions while the others stayed with him as he went after the remote. Whatever the scattering bots were up to didn't appear to concern Metro Man, for no sooner had they taken off than he targeted his adversary's flying board with his laser vision. His first blast missed the villain as Megamind nimbly maneuvered to avoid it. It caught one of the uglybots instead, which dropped out of the fray like a whimpering dog; the rest of its little pack followed it out of the line of fire rather than stay in danger with their master. Roxanne swore she could hear Megamind shriek, "Cowards!" to their retreating tails, but he had more important things to deal with when Metro Man's next laser shot sliced the engine off his flyer.
While she snapped photos of the whole thing for posterity, Roxanne thought that this was the strangest "battle" she'd ever witnessed. It was more like a squabble between preteen schoolyard rivals. As Megamind and his flyer went spiraling out of control, down into the dark valleys of the streets below, the fireworks at the lakefront began - and a larger explosion on the opposite side of town momentarily lit the eastern sky. Metro Man had started to follow his foe, but the sight and sound of the explosion drew his attention elsewhere. Roxanne saw the uglybots return and close in around Megamind, saving him from becoming roadkill on the pavement. Metro Man saw it, too, then changed his mind about pursuing him and instead flew off in the direction of the explosion.
Was he just letting his opponent go? If he was, then that was all Roxanne needed to convince her that this was just a hoax. It was weird enough that Megamind had actually seemed to be enjoying himself, but this was the clincher. With his documented super speed, it would have been no problem for Metro Man to both nab the crook and go rescue the citizens; he'd done it before. There would be no reason to do otherwise now, Roxanne felt, unless he knew this whole business with "Megamind" was nothing more than a show that had to end early due to technical difficulties.
Well, maybe that was a bit of a stretch, trying to make the facts fit the story rather than the reverse, but the reporter couldn't think of a better explanation for why a known hero would simply fly off and leave a presumably dangerous adversary. When Metro Man was gone and the fireworks display was rumbling and flashing and booming away, she decided to hustle back to the streets, to see if she could catch the fallen "villain" in the act of powering down the special effects and maybe even getting out of that hot and heavy prosthetic, not to mention the heavy make-up. On a sweltering night like this, she knew she wouldn't want keep either on a moment longer than was necessary to collect her pay. She'd noted the way his fall had taken him, and thought she might be able to get close to it if she hustled.
Fortunately, the other doors into the tannery building were only locked, not barred or boarded up, so she was able to take a different way out that would hopefully shorten the distance she needed to cover. She was glad that she'd worn her athletic shoes, so she could sprint in hopes of getting there before Megamind left.
She didn't realize that she'd gotten turned around inside the dark building until she was running down what she'd thought was the right street, heading in the right direction. There had been a pause in the fireworks when she'd left the tannery, probably while some ground display was lit up. When they resumed, they were, to her, in the wrong part of the sky. Frustrated, Roxanne realized that she'd been racing away from her quarry; she spun on her heel to head back again. Having been stuck in the office over the past year far more than she'd ever been on her last job, she was out of shape and getting disgustingly winded. Hoping to make things a little easier on herself, she began looking for a short cut. To her relief, she spotted a narrow alley that went in the direction she wanted, and hurried down it.
The alley seemed longer than any alley had a right to be. She was glad when it turned in what she felt was a convenient direction - until she went half a block farther, and suddenly found her path blocked by a tall chain link fence with an equally tall chained-shut gate. With the only light that from the distant fireworks and inevitable urban city glow, she hadn't seen it until she was almost upon it; though she tried to stop, she couldn't do so fast enough to keep herself from slamming into it. The impact knocked what little wind she had left right out of her, and left her clinging to the fence for support as she gasped, trying to get her breath back so she didn't collapse from lack of air.
"Great, just great!" she muttered to herself, annoyed by her own poor condition and the obstacle blocking her way. What idiot put a fence in an alley, anyway?
Roxanne kept filling her lungs, letting herself recover a bit while she considered her next step. She could go back the way she'd come, which was certainly the path of least resistance, but it would also take the longest, and she didn't know how much time she could afford to waste. She could try to climb over the fence, but between her winded condition and the weight of her camera equipment, she had her doubts that she'd succeed, except perhaps in breaking her neck or the expensive borrowed gadgets. Worse, she could see that the fence was part of what had been a secured yard of some sort, and even if she got over this obstacle, a second fence awaited not far beyond. She might find the strength to make it over one, but not two, not fast enough to make it worth the effort.
She was about to start back and was wondering how much longer she could manage to run before she collapsed like the last finisher in a double marathon when noises from around the corner of the alley behind her pushed other thoughts from her mind. The metallic grind and crash of an industrial garage door being opened was very loud, and was followed by the sounds of angry, garbled voices and heavy footsteps. There were also sounds disturbingly like that of flesh striking flesh, which suddenly caused Roxanne to wonder exactly where she'd wound up. The list of possibilities wasn't very long, and the flash from a particularly bright set of fireworks left no doubt when she saw the graffiti on the wall of the building to her right. She'd wandered into Gangland, in a dead end alley, after dark.
Damn.
She heard the noises of people coming her way, unfriendly noises no doubt caused by unfriendly people, and she immediately looked for a place to hide, knowing that running was not an option here. Fortunately, the alley was not empty. Though the wall to her right was solid brick, without so much as a door or a window, that on the left had several large dumpsters and assorted trash cans shoved up against it. The dumpsters were not empty, and there was no time to dig a space for herself inside one, even had she been so inclined. But there was a gap between two of the big metal bins, partially covered by one opened lid, and big enough for her to conceal herself in its shadows. It was her best option, and she took it. She dove into that gap and pulled herself into the cover of darkness just in time to avoid being seen by the group of hoods coming around the corner.
And she had no doubt that these were hoodlums, members of one of the nastier gangs, by their colors, a group known for drug dealing and even more unsavory activities. From her hiding place, Roxanne had a remarkably unimpeded view of them as they came to a stop.
There were seven in all, four of them large, burly men who well earned the description of "muscle." In pairs, they held captive two other men, who, by comparison, looked as skinny as Megamind. The seventh man had led them into the cul-de-sac, and in the eerie flashes of multi-colored light from the fireworks, his gaunt face made Roxanne recoil. She had seen pictures of people that reminded her of him - in slasher movies and in police sketches of criminals wanted for crimes that would make those cinematic villains seem like amateurs. It was the face of a insane mind, capable of all too reasoned but senseless acts to appease some unknowable inner need. It was the face of raw fear, and Roxanne had never thought to see it in the flesh, so close. Almost without thinking, she brought up her camera with the night lens, carefully setting it to silent operation so as not to draw attention to herself. In the long run, capturing this face and anything that might come next could be worth more to her career as an investigative reporter than any exposé involving fake superheroics.
"Over here," the gaunt man said brusquely, motioning for the thugs to hold their captives against the wall. A detached part of Roxanne's mind thought that professionally, this was perfect, as it gave her and her camera a clear view. The captives struggled as they were pinned against the wall, their curses giving way to pleading.
"Look, Blade, look, you-you don't have to do it! It's like we told your boss, it wasn't our fault this time! Dirk's girl found the money an' took it - go bleed it outta him, he's the one who let her keep it!"
"Yeah, Blade, th-that's th-the truth, I s-swear!" the second captive stammered, his eyes wild with fear. "Dirk's th-the guy you w-want!"
"Really," the gaunt man, Blade, said in a toneless voice that made Roxanne's blood run cold. "And how did Dirk's girl find it in the first place? That money and the goods should've been in Rock's hands three weeks before those two came back to town."
"We couldn't get it to him!" the first captive swore. "The narcs were watchin' us - if we'd made a move to deliver, they'd've nabbed us an' Rock an' all the rest of you, too!"
Blade made a casually disdainful sniff as he took something from his pocket, studying it as if it were vastly more interesting than anything they had to say. "Yes, we've all heard the story. So sad, so noble of you to protect us. And such bullshit. I don't think we need to hear it again." His narrowed eyes glanced at the thugs.
With obedient pleasure, they struck the captives to shut them up, first punching them in the gut to wind them, then clubbing their heads with solid, possibly weighted, fists until their victims were reduced to whimpers. "Not too hard, now," Blade admonished his cohorts with a chilling parody of concern. "This won't be any fun at all if they aren't awake to enjoy it."
The heavies seemed a little disappointed, but followed instructions. "Let's get this over with, Blade," one suggested. "The cops won't stay busy between that gas main explosion Rock set an' the lakefront mobs much longer."
One of the other thugs agreed. "I don't see why we just didn't take care of this inside," he said a little nervously, glancing skyward. "That Metro bastard could spot us out here...."
Blade waved it off. "Ah, that was the whole point of the explosion, to give our precious superhero some real threat to his beloved citizens to keep him occupied for a while." He spoke distractedly as he removed the sheath from what Roxanne could now see was a long, gleamingly sharp knife that looked like some kind of demonic surgical scalpel. "You know how Rock hates the smell of blood in his place, and we had to give him and the rest of the boys a few minutes to leave the area, just in case. But you're right, I think it's time to get down to business."
With that, the seemingly laconic man suddenly moved, turning to the more vocal of the two prisoners. With deft slashes almost too fast for the eye to follow, he sliced away the front of his victim's clothing, causing only the smallest of nicks to the man's skin. The captive screamed, the sound neatly covered by the thunder of the fireworks.
Though she couldn't see his face, Roxanne could hear the insane smile in Blade's voice. "Did you find that unpleasant, Billy? So sorry. Here, let's see how you enjoy this." And the gaunt man moved again, still with astonishing speed, this time using his knife with all the deadly skill of Jack the Ripper. Billy screamed, then fell silent with an awful, gurgling wail.
He worked so fast, Roxanne didn't have a chance to close her eyes against the horrifying sight. The shock of what she had just seen registered as the murdered man slumped in the grip of the thugs, who were trying to avoid getting soaked in his blood. Roxanne, frozen in shock, didn't hear Blade when he told the heavies, "Dispose of him." All she saw was the mutilated body being dragged in her direction. When it was hoisted up and heaved into one of the dumpsters beside her, her entire body shook from waves of terrified revulsion - and the camera slipped from her hands and fell clattering to the pavement.
Blade and the two thugs nearest her stiffened, hearing the metallic sound. "What's that?" the executioner snapped, rousing Roxanne, making her scrabble farther back into the shadows, hoping to become one of them, to escape this unexpected nightmare. One of the two heavies spotted the fallen camera. He jerked his head toward Roxanne's hiding place as he bent to pick it up, and his partner abruptly shouldered the dumpster aside, moving it far enough to reveal the hiding woman. He grabbed her roughly, hauling her to her feet as the other thug showed Blade the camera.
The killer saw what his henchman was pointing to, a property of KMCP tag glued to the camera. He smiled, horribly. "Ah, a newsie. Spying on our business, or just looking for a scoop, my dear?" he asked as she was pulled forward, now in the grip of the two who'd held the first victim. "Did you get a clear view of things, hm? Close enough to satisfy your curiosity? No? Then how lucky for you, you'll have a second chance to see anything you just missed."
His insanely smirking face suddenly went colder than the dead of space, his eyes as lifeless. "Hold her," he told the muscle restraining her, his voice causing the alley's sweltering heat to suddenly turn to arctic chill. "Make sure she doesn't miss a thing. I'm sure she'll enjoy knowing just what's in store for her - after she pays the price for intruding, of course."
The heavies dragged her forward, hardly noticing her best struggles. "You can't do this!" she began, and was promptly clubbed from behind, hard. Her vision swam and her head spun, the pain effectively silencing her. She thought for a moment that she might pass out, but the wave of aching dizziness passed much too quickly. The pain persuaded her against speaking again, for even the sound of her own breath was agonizing.
Blade motioned for the other two thugs to pin their captive against the brick wall. The man's struggles had dwindled to abject whimpers of begging, pleading, promising anything to avoid the fate of his friend. Roxanne was being held so that she could see absolutely everything. She didn't want to, and as she closed her eyes to shut it out, someone grabbed the hair above her forehead and yanked it and her skin back, hard, forcing her eyes to open.
Blade's eyes - not dark, no, but pale, too pale, like glass windows into a soulless void, empty of warmth or conscience - locked with hers, his expression the most unholy thing Roxanne would ever see. His lips twitched in a death rictus parody of a smile, and this time moving slowly, carefully, oh so precisely, he went to work, each grisly, deadly movement burned forever in the screaming recesses of Roxanne's mind.