The reporter had shoulder-length blonde hair, a slightly crooked nose, a full Cupid's bow lower lip, and a wristwatch with a plain, round dial that was not visible onscreen because she was holding the microphone with her other hand. Behind her, across a sea of heads, Metro City Hall was visible in the distance. The man standing next to her was dark-skinned, with graying beard and dreadlocks tied in a loose pony tail, dressed in a tweed jacket over a green polo shirt.
"Happy Coronation Day, Metro City. It's a beautiful day to inaugurate a new form of government. With me is Morris Schultz, Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan's Metro City campus. Professor, for the benefit of the greater world that hasn't been following the local news, can you explain give us a thirty-second explanation of the change the city is making with this ceremony?"
"Certainly, Carol. In a world still recovering from the zombie uprising, there's only one thing that can make a leader credible in the eyes of the world: effectiveness against zombies. We must be lead, and be seen to be lead,by those who keep us safe. It is Megamind, his family, his creatures and his inventions that have kept us safe. And no elected, merely human successor can take his place, only another blue genius, which means only one of his children. Since this gives us a de facto monarchy, the voters have chosen to go with de jure monarchy as well, with all the trappings. It's really just a ratification of the system of government that has arisen spontaneously in the wake of the collapse that followed the uprising, but it's also a demonstration that Metro City has recovered enough to put on a show like this. It's our statement to the world that we are no long scattered bands of survivors struggling against the undead hordes. We are a community again, with a government, an economy, and a functioning university campus, and we are ready to rejoin the civilized world."
"So besides being a morale boost for the citizens, it will encourage new trade relationships."
"That is the goal, yes."
"Thanks, Professor. And now we go to the steps of City Hall, where Mayor Enterman is stepping up to the podium to give his farewell speech."
When the red light on the camera went out, she thanked the professor again, told her cameraman she'd meet him at the wrap-up, handed him her microphone, and started moving toward the crowd.
Just at the edge, she came to a figure in a trench coat and a fedora with a video lens on a long flexible stalk instead of a face. It ignored her as she unbuttoned the coat and slipped inside. There was a faint glow from under the coat, hard to notice in the bright sunlight, and then a very different woman emerged: middle-aged, olive skinned, nose and chin both much sharper, hair black but eyes incongruously blue, wearing a City Hall janitor's uniform and the same watch.
As the outgoing mayor droned on, this new figure hurried around the edge of the crowd until she reached one of the service entrances of City Hall. There were two brainbots on guard there; they also ignored her. In she went, down a hallway, up a flight of stairs, and then she was approaching the front entrance, where Megamind and his three children waited, made up for the cameras and ornately dressed. She touched her watch and became Roxanne, similarly dressed and made up.
"Mo-om," whined her blue son. "You were almost late!"
"It'll be okay, honey," she replied, knowing that he was less angry than nervous. And then the doors were opened and the fanfare blew and it was time to step out.
Roxanne will never stop being a reporter. Thanks to her husband's technical brilliance, she doesn't have to.