บท 36: Bond Beyond Words (Megamind Jump Finished)
(Carter POV)
"Minion! I require more coffee. This paperwork shall not defeat me!"
" Megamind, you don't need to yell. He is right there." The man ignores me as his minion grabs another cup of coffee from the machine I installed in his office.
"It's alright, sir. Besides, it's been so long since I have seen him this motivated." Truly, Minion is too good for this world.
Studying his biology was pretty interesting, as I was allowed to scan him after he allowed me to. He is essentially a piranha yet has the vocal cords of a fully developed male human. I assume the vocal cord changes and the increase in brain matter are why he's so much larger than his other brethren.
" How well have you been adjusting, Megamind?" The question causes the caffeine-addicted man to stop struggling and raving and look at me with a much more serious look in his eyes.
"It's… something to get used to. I suppose I still believe you are a fool for allowing me to enter your building and rage around with your files. I could be planning my greatest scheme yet, and you would never know." His smile turned to a frown, as he had seen me lately smirking, and he knew that I could stop him at any time.
"Well, this is definitely the longest con you've gone for Megamind. Besides, you know I have Metro Man on speed dial, and he's just already raring to give you another one of his metro noogies." Megamind physically jumps out of his chair and holds his head on the place where all the motion burns used to be.
"There is no need for punishment. I shall get right back to work, but I do require more coffee, if you could provide that to me, minion." Chuckling to himself, the minion pours him another cup.
Right now, I am technically providing Megamind with his necessary community service. Due to the amount of property damage he caused, he is technically in jail for life, so he can only leave if he provides quality service that Metro Man is watching.
I could almost feel my brother's smugness, not towards me or you but towards Megamind. He's always tried to change the genius, but his immaturity did not help.
So, I did what anyone dealing with a narcissistic genius would do. I played towards his pride and offered him a job, but it seems he's somehow convinced himself that he could technically defeat him if he becomes more famous than the metroman.
But I, for one, am not looking to strike the gift horse in the mouth, so I let him live in this delusion while keeping constant vigilance. While I am happy he is taking this chance, I am always on the lookout for whether this is actually his scheme.
But since it has been a couple of months since I took him for his "community service," nothing seems to be wrong. I have provided him with an apartment, food, and clothing, and I've even been paying him.
Thinking back, it's pretty hilarious that I used to be one of the lowest of the low in terms of jobs, but now here I am, CEO of my own business, although the fact that it took me dying to get this chance rather more to think about.
But looking on the brighter side, my life could be seen as the benefit of second chances, which I like to think of.
Seeing that Megamind is still busy with the paperwork, I excuse myself. He simply waves me off, but I see a bit of gratefulness in his eyes, to which I give him a slight nod and leave his office.
However, with my telekinetic senses, I could feel him trying to get another cup of coffee, to which I gave a slight nudge to his cup, sending it right onto his pants.
"AHHHHHH! Minion! Grab the ice! I know this is your fault, Carter. I will have my revenge!" Laughing, I head into the elevator and back up to my office. I walk in and see the Monopoly man smoking on his pipe again, which confuses me as I have seen his body through my X-ray vision, and he doesn't have any organs; he just exists.
And when I asked him about it, he just simply chuckled and said that I'd had to look deeper, and unless he's talking in some kind of metaphysical sense, I am a bit lost in terms of what he wants.
But unlike other geniuses, I'd like to place my trust in this man, as even though he is quite literally connected to the very concept of capitalism, he was created to help me, and to be honest, I feel as if I've been lacking in that department.
I checked the Watch I created, which helps me keep track of my remaining time in this world. It shows that it's gone down to only two more months.
"It's interesting, isn't it, sir? The passage of time sometimes feels like it's moving at a snail's pace, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, it feels like your brother whenever he wants to come to check up on you." Giving him an empty look, I sit back in my chair and review this year's financials, which saw a bit of a decrease because Megamind had stopped with his schemes, and a part of the company was based on repairing his damages.
But when you're an intellectual like myself, I knew the perfect avenues to backpedal into for extra profits: entertainment and medicine, as people will always need more conveniences.
"I see you're still reading that philosophy book. I assume that was one of the questions asked in one of the chapters." The Monopoly man simply shook his head as he looked over some of the papers that I had signed.
"No, I just noticed that you've been looking at that watch of yours at an increased rate for the past couple of months. It doesn't take a genius to know that you aren't looking forward to it." With a heavy heart, I continued filling out the forms as the room was left quiet, but my mind was the opposite.
(That Evening)
Walking into my house, I change into shorts and a large T-shirt and grab beers from the fridge.
Teleporting to the roof of the house, I go out under the balcony, where I keep two lawn chairs, and take a seat on the chair on the left. After cracking open one of the beers, I take a good long chug and just watch as the sun dips on the horizon.
"Something on your mind?" I don't even need to look to see who is asking the question. Wayne, who was out of costume, sits down on the chair next to me as I pass him one of the beers.
"Understatement of the century, Wayne. I always have stuff on my mind." Wayne simply gives me a dry look as he takes a sip and places it on the table next to us.
"It seems my brother has entered the rebellious phase. What's wrong, Carter? Is it something I can help with ?" I answered him without even looking into his eyes.
"This time, as it's not really about saving someone, it's more about me." Taking another sip, I find that the rum is already gone.
"Every single part of me is wondering what's wrong, but we are both old enough now that I know you don't want to tell me something, and I won't rush you. Just know that I'm here."
"How are mother and father doing on their vacation?" I asked in a futile attempt to divert the conversation.
"One of the last times I talked to him, they were loving every second of it. It was a nice thing for you to do, give them that multi-year tour of Europe. Although father was probably using it to take a tour of all their bars, knowing him." Yeah, to be honest, it seems my liking of alcohol has been influenced by my backstory, as my dad, in this life, was not the most stealthy of drinkers.
It's not like I'm an alcoholic or anything, but I have definitely drunk more of this jump than any of the others.
" Thanks, Wayne," I said without thinking, giving myself a mental lashing for being a bit too on the nose.
" For what?" I could practically see the question marks popping up over his head.
"For being here." The statement was probably so silent that he had to use his super-hearing just to hear me.
" If I knew you would end up being a sappy brother, I would've brought you some Broadway plays. But other than that, I'm your brother, and it's my brotherly duty to be here. I love every second I spend with you and couldn't ask for anything better." After saying that, he finished his drink and simply looked onto the horizon as a small smile graced my face.
Eventually, however, Wayne had to leave for his evening patrol, and as I saw him, he put on his costume and flew away within a couple of milliseconds, a smile on his face never seeming to leave his face.
(Two Months Later)
" Is everything prepared, Thomas?" I asked the monopoly man, who eventually decided to take the name Thomas. He was kind of getting sick of me calling him the Monopoly man or handlebar mustache.
He told me the first name was inspired by some kind of television show. He would never tell me what it was, but I assumed he liked it, so I didn't question it.
" Yes, sir, all our assets are prepared for dimensional transfer. Now I must be going, but do take care of choosing your next world, as I have a feeling it's going to be a bit rougher than this one." Narrowing my brow, I wished for him to continue the statement, but he was already gone when I looked back at him.
Looking upwards towards the clock, I grabbed a small photograph taken of Wayne and me hanging out on top of the tallest building in Metro City. I rubbed my hand along it like I almost remembered Wayne Lass. I had nearly failed to start flying.
I had wanted to use my telekinesis, but I knew I would have to keep up the illusion.
All of my affairs had been set in order, and to all of my employees and even to himself, I was going on a business vacation, which technically wasn't a lie, but I was definitely going farther than what I told him.
As the clock hit zero once more, the warehouse, or more specifically, the door to the outside world, disappeared. The end of the familiar consul lit up, and as I sat down, I looked down at the choices that I had. As I scrolled through various worlds, I found that some were specifically listed in a type of pin list or recommendations, which I assume came from whoever created this jump chain.
After reviewing the various recommendations, I clicked on one that stood out.
(All right, folks. The next chapter shall be our newest world, so I hope you all continue voting and have a nice rest of your day or night, depending on your time zone and place in the world. I'm pretty sure some parts of the world don't even get day or night, but that just might be the exhaustion talking.)
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