This is my first ever fan fic! I've never even considered writing a fan fic before, but then Megamind came along, and… well, I guess for the first time ever I turned into a squealing fan girl, a soft-headed-groupie, you know the drill. ;) Wow, I'm such a nerd… can't believe the effect this movie has on me! Anyway this story starts out about 6 months pre-movie, then moves to about 6 months post-movie in chapter two and continues on from there. Hope everyone enjoys it… I'm having a bunch of fun writing it! Reviews would be fantastic, but remember… this is my first fic, so please be nice! By the way, I don't own Megamind, Dreamworks does (so sad!).
"This is Roxanne Ritchi, reporting from the corner of 278th Avenue and Fox Hill Road in downtown Metro City. I'm here at the scene of a robbery which has taken place at Mom and Pop's Corner Market, a much loved family owned icon in this part of town for over three generations. Witnesses state that at about 10: 20 this morning, the store was robbed and vandalized extensively in full view of the patrons that frequent this popular spot. A nominal amount of money from the store's cash register was stolen, along with cash from the wallets and purses of those present in the store at the time.
"There are unconfirmed reports that the witnesses believe the perpetrator to be Megamind, Metro City's own resident super villain, acting on his own without assistance from his well known side kick, Minion. This particular crime would seem to be quite a deviation from Megamind's usual M.O., for which he is well know in Metro City, and consists of regular showy attempts to destroy Metro Man, Metro City's own beloved super hero.
"Details are very sketchy at this point, as the stories of many of the witnesses don't coincide with one another. The patrons that were present at the time of the robbery seem particularly confused, and are giving inconsistent accounts of how the crime went down. There are at this time no reports of any serious injuries. No statement concerning this crime or the possible involvement of Megamind has been made by the Metro City PD; but as always, KMCP News will continue to closely monitor the situation, and report any new developments as details are released. "
When Roxanne was given the ok from Hal, her creepy and socially backward cameraman, she turned to take in the scene that surrounded her. Mom and Pop's Corner Market was set in an older part of the city that had begun to be restored and gentrified in the last decade. There were beautiful brick buildings set with lovely millwork, decorative cornices, and intricate moldings, many of them dating back to the late 1800's. There was so much history here. The lives of so many citizens from days gone by were lived out here in these buildings and on these streets; it endeared this part of town to her. Her own great grandfather had walked these streets as a young man in the 1920's when he worked as a reporter for the Metro City Monitor, Metro City's oldest news paper. Roxanne loved this city, her roots here ran deep; but she loved this part of town in particular. It broke her heart to imagine anyone even thinking about damaging such a special place.
She had been shocked at just how terribly damaged The Market was, with shattered windows… the old paneled kind which would be hard to replace, and a badly damaged front door. It looked as though someone tried to kick it down, even though the crime had taken place during business hours, and the perpetrator would have found the door not only unlocked, but propped open on such a lovely and unusually warm November day. Inside, the antique display cases were also shattered, and shelves were pushed over onto the floor. The contents of the shelves were spread everywhere, broken and trampled, and very little of it would be able to be salvaged. In fact, the little shop was so badly damaged, it may be months before it could be re-opened.
It was hard for her to imagine that Megamind was responsible for this. Yah, ok, he's loud and irritating, and yes, he does tend to make a mess when he's in the middle of one his ridiculous plans, but this… it doesn't even make any sense! Why would he just show up and terrorize this tiny little shop for chump change, tear the place up, and then leave without playing so much as a single AC/DC song, or sending out one challenge for Metro Man to try and stop him. That would be completely slumming it for the Megamind she knew. He was all about shock value, loudly capturing the attention of the "mindless drones", and presentation; something like this was way beneath him.
And what about her? I thought I was his 'victim of choice', he didn't even bother to show up and kidnap me for this one. What's going on with you, Megamind? This wasn't the first time he pulled off a plan without her, it had happened a few other times in the past couple of months, and each time the crimes were so out of character for him, just like this one was. She surprised herself at how disappointed she felt at being left out of Megamind's latest plan. She quickly pushed those feelings aside. That's ridiculous!
Then there were the witnesses, eleven people were in the store when it happened, and none of their stories matched up at all. They all said such strange things, really pretty scary things. One of them was even saying something completely crazy about the "fog in the store". What fog, it was clear this morning, and in the store? Weird. Roxanne supposed it could be that fog machine he used sometimes, but wasn't that the brainbots' job to take care of that for him? All of the witnesses had said that there were no brainbots present at the time. The only other thing that they all agreed on was that Megamind was the one that pulled the whole thing off, without Minion, too. Why wouldn't Minion be there?
It almost seemed as though those people were drugged; their speech was slightly sluggish and their eyes a bit glassy. No one but her seemed to notice any of these inconsistencies. The police were buying every word of it, of coarse they would… why would they doubt a story about Megamind attacking the random, innocent citizens of Metro City, especially when there were so many witnesses? And if someone said something really strange, like that line about the fog, they just explained it away saying it was a result of shock. The reporter in her was bothered by this, but she had no reason to doubt the word of any of those people. Besides, Megamind was a villain.
As she stood there watching the scene unfold in front of her, she watched as a group of EMT's frantically wheeled out a gurney occupied by the still form of a man, small flecks of red staining part of the blanket covering him, and a large, open gash visible on the left side of his forehead and into his hairline. As they drove away, sirens blaring, she ran over to the nearest police officer, dread rising in her chest.
"Hey, what happened? Is he going to be ok?" she asked.
When the officer turned, a familiar face looked back at her with worried eyes. Chris O'Donnell was a friend that Roxanne had made on the force during her many rounds of kidnappings and being Megamind's star victim. "Oh, hey Roxie. I just don't know what to tell you. That guy is hurt pretty bad. Some of the witnesses say he was assaulted when he tried to stand up to Megamind during the robbery. He took a real beating this morning. Megamind's really going out of his way to play up his evil villain role lately, isn't he?". He shook his head sadly and stood thoughtfully for a moment, reflecting on what had happened. Then as an afterthought he added "Of course, you know everything I'm telling you is off the record. I can't be giving out any info to the press right now."
"Hi, Chris. You know you don't have to worry about that with me. All I'm going to do is report what I see until we get an official statement from Chief Porter. And yah, you're right. It seems that Megamind is doing his best to "strike terror into the populace", and it seems to be working. I really hope that guy will be ok."
"Me too. Hey, I have to get back to work, Roxie. You be careful, Megamind is becoming pretty unpredictable. I'll admit that I'm a little worried about you."
"Ok, Chris. I will. See ya." She said as she watched him turn and move in to direct the crowd of people, who in their curiosity were getting a little too close to the action. Unpredictable? Since when is Megamind unpredictable? What's going on? Her brows were creased with worry, and her blue eyes betrayed the heaviness in her heart. Stop it, Roxanne! Remember who this is we're talking about here! He's the bad guy, and this is what bad guys do! No surprises here!
She shook herself to clear the dark thoughts in her head, and scanned the crowd for Hal. Breaking news, and he's nowhere in sight! You'd think he'd have noticed the ambulance and sirens, they're kinda hard to miss! Why do I always get hooked up with the worst cameramen? He probably ditched me and is off getting a coffee or something! Oh, there he is.
Waving her arms to get his attention above the jostling crowd and noise, she called out, "Hal! Over here! Got another report to make!"
That night at home, Roxanne couldn't get the strange happenings of the day out of her mind. She was troubled, and actually found herself worrying about Megamind, which was probably the nuttiest thing of all in this completely crazy day. She was also exhausted after a long day of back to back news broadcasts, reporting updates and commenting on new information as it was released. As it turned out, the man that had been rushed to the hospital as she looked on was very seriously hurt, and was still in critical condition at Metro General. She could still feel the empty, sinking feeling she had experienced when that bit of news was released.
The public was concerned to say the least about their famous villain's apparent change in the way he carried out his dastardly doings. This event was the talk of the city, and every station was talking themselves to death about how Megamind seemed to be becoming more and more dangerous and unpredictable. The trouble was, Roxanne still had such a hard time accepting that. No matter how annoying, and obnoxious, and completely self absorbed he was, she just couldn't bring herself to actually see him as truly dangerous. He's never actually tried to hurt me before, and he's had so many opportunities! I've never really felt threatened with him, in fact I know he'd do everything he could to keep me safe if something went wrong with one of his plans. But considering what she had seen today, maybe she didn't know him quite as well as she thought she did.
"Wow, Roxanne. Listen to yourself!", she said out loud to the empty apartment. "I just need to step back and relax; get my mind off this mess for a while". She fixed herself a cup of tea, and went in to the living room to flip on the TV and settle down comfortably with a blanket, hoping to find something interesting enough to get her mind off Megamind and the situation at the Market that was dominating her thoughts. Not a single program really caught her attention, so she reluctantly settled for some boring, non-descript reality show. As she watched, her eyes became heavier and heavier, and soon she was drifting off to sleep.
"Miss Ritchi!". Roxanne thought she heard her name being called by a very familiar voice. "Miss Ritchi?". A very familiar and decidedly attractive voice.
" You know, I've come all the way up here. The least you could do is wake up and give a little attention and adoration to your future glorious E-vil Overlord."
"Hmm?" Roxanne slowly opened her eyes, waiting for them to focus in the dim room, and found herself looking into a pair of brilliantly emerald green eyes gazing back at her intently. This has to be a dream, because I can't believe how completely hot he is right now! No way I'd let myself think this if I were awake!
The exhaustion of the day was winning out though, and her eyes began to slide closed again as she wiggled a bit to find the most comfortable spot on her couch to settle into. With a deep breath, she began to drift back to sleep.
"Roxanne!"
With that one word, her eyes sprung open, and all the memories of the previous day came flooding back into her mind. For the first time ever, she found herself slightly uneasy with Megamind as the image of the man on the gurney bounced around in her head.
"What do you want?" she asked with a roll of her blue eyes and as much snarkiness in her voice as she could muster. I am not going to let him know that I'm a little nervous about him being here right now. "And how did you get in here?" she demanded. She already knew, of course. He had picked her locks countless times during her frequent kidnappings, and sometimes he would even let himself in just to hang around; she was certain just to get on her nerves. But she was tired and worried, and didn't have it in her to make any of this easy for Megamind, so she was determined to be as difficult as possible.
"Why Miss Ritchi, you're as charming as ever tonight. A welcome fit for devilishly handsome and de-sting-quished company such as myself." he said with a flourish as he raised his brow and gave her a sarcastically smug grin. "Don't forget, my magnificent victory over Metro Mahn is imminent," at this he leaned forward and wagged his finger at her as though she were a naughty child, and raised his voice to a much more theatrical level, "and you ought to make sure you play your cards right, or you will find yourself facing my dreadful wrath when I take my place as ruler of Metrocity!" He straightened, and shrugged his shoulders. "And, I got in the same way I always do… picked the locks on your balcony."
At hearing his little monologue and his brazen and remorseless admission that he broke in to her apartment, Roxanne began to forget her uneasiness and became seriously annoyed. With a huff, she said "Megamind, I'm tired and I had a long, rough day thanks to you and your antics at the Market this morning. Will you just get on with the kidnapping, so we can get this over with and I can get back to sleep!"
As she spoke, the egotistical look on his blue face drained away, and for just a moment he looked genuinely troubled.
"Actually, I'm not here to kidnap you this time." he paused and looked away, hesitant to continue. "I want to talk to you about what happened at the Market this morning."
Any remnants of sleepiness that were still hanging on to Roxanne slipped away, and she sat up as her chest tightened anxiously.
Megamind took a step forward, and looked in her blue eyes. She has the most amazingly beautiful eyes. She didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he was moving closer to her, and looked at him expectantly, unconsciously leaning forward as she waited to hear what he had to say.
"Roxanne, I didn't hit that insignificant little market this morning. That wasn't me."
"Wait, what? There were witnesses! Eleven people were in that store, and they all said that you were there; that it was you that did it! Now you're going to stand there and tell me that it wasn't you?" Roxanne could hardly believe what she was hearing. Normally Megamind would proudly and loudly accept the blame for any act of evil he committed. Now he was actually claiming innocence when he was being accused of doing something villainous. Then she thought back to all the little things her "nosey reporter skills" picked up on that didn't seem to add up, that no one else noticed but her. She actually began to find herself wanting to hear more, hoping what he said was true.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you. It wasn't me that robbed that little store this morning. I was with Minion, working on another brilliant plan, and deciding on which one of my new and nefarious devices to use for your next abduction. And no comment on my impending plan, I'm not about to give away all my secrets, no matter how good your nosey reporter skills are" Or how completely cute you look sitting there all curled up on your couch like that. Man, I would love to… no, focus!
"Besides, think about what happened there today, did that look like my work? Whoever did that was a thug with no finesse. There wasn't even a strain of a single AC/DC or Metallica song to be heard! You've known me for a long time, Roxanne. I take pride in my presentation!"
He was actually beginning to look disgusted as he ranted about the imposter's clumsy exploits that he was taking the blame for. In spite of herself and the gravity of the situation, Roxanne was finding it hard to keep from smiling. He really can be adorable when he's … hey, stop that! What in the world's wrong with me? Focus, Roxanne! To get her mind back on the conversation, she allowed herself to relive the memories of that morning, and instantly began to drift to a more serious state of mind.
"Besides, why would I knock over such a piddley little store for pocket change, and then randomly trash the place like an amateur, when I could take down any bank in Metro City without breaking a sweat, and with both hands tied behind my back! Not to mention the Market makes the best doughnuts and lattes in town. Where would I get my caffeine fix if I destroyed the place?" He added quietly, almost to himself.
"Megamind, this is so serious, I don't know what to think. Someone was really hurt today, still in the hospital as a matter of fact! A whole store full of people say it was you, and now you're telling me this! You've said yourself more times than I can count how evil you are, so how am I supposed to believe what you're telling me now?" She was starting to raise her voice in frustration.
Without thinking, he moved to sit down next to her, his cape rustling as he sank to the couch. He leaned toward her slightly and looked at her with a look of earnestness that she had never seen in those gorgeous eyes before, and said "I give you my word, Roxanne. I had nothing to do with what happened at the Market this morning. And despite all the kidnappings and other wicked things I've put you through for the sake of e-vil, I've never lied to you".
She couldn't help shaking her head as she looked at this man who claimed to be so evil and went out of his way to put his dastardly deeds on display for the world, and yet there were rare times that he seemed underneath all the posturing to be one of the most decent and caring people she had ever known. Why do you have to be so confusing? After hearing his heart felt admission, she found her doubts about her long time captor beginning to melt away. She wanted to believe him. And he was right; up to this point, he had never actually lied to her. It had always been a kind of unspoken understanding they had with one another. Many times he had dodged a question she would ask him, or changed the subject, or given a pompous and sardonic answer to try and throw her off the trail, leaving her comments unanswered. But actually lying to her was one act of evil he had never taken part in, at least with her, and it surprised her how much the possibility of him lying to her some day made her heart ache.
Although Megamind was the villain, there were times that she felt he was even more trustworthy than Metro Man. Yes, Wayne Scott was the hero and had never let her down, but she had always known that everything he did was for the good of his own name and reputation, where Megamind really believed in what he did… he put his heart into it, even though he was on the wrong side of the law.
"What about those other crimes they say you were responsible for in the past couple of months, the ones I wasn't there for; was that you?" She hoped he'd say no. They were nearly as out of character and randomly destructive as yesterday's, but no one was as viciously and seriously hurt as that man at the Market.
"Roxanne, of coarse that wasn't me. Do you really think I'd even consider pulling off any acts of mayhem without you? You're my star victim, an essential part of my overall villainous plan. Besides, where would the fun be in anything I tried to pull off without you?" he answered gently with a small smile.
As she considered what he had just said, she searched his handsome face. She remembered how just as in the Market robbery, the witnesses in those other crimes had also behaved strangely, and their accounts of what had happened just didn't quite add up. She began to feel like a huge weight was being lifted from her as his words sunk in. One more question popped up in her mind, and she couldn't help but ask, "Why are you telling me this?".
"Because," he answered as he searched her eyes, and took in every detail of this unique and special woman, finally settling on her exquisite lips. "I just think you should know. I don't care what the moronic masses think about me, but I want you to know the truth."
Roxanne's heart was racing as she heard him say these words, not in his typical showman's voice that he always used to impress and terrify a crowd, but softly, and in his real voice which he rarely ever used in front of her. She realized their faces were inches apart, and she could feel his body heat radiating toward her, and his rich warm scent and the faint smell of his leather suit was beginning to make her feel a bit weak. She found herself imagining what it would feel like if his long blue fingers were stroking her cheek and smoothing her hair, and thinking how nice it would be if those expressive lips were to find themselves pressed against her own.
What am I doing? She shook herself and backed away with some effort. Nothing like this had ever happened between them before, although there were times (more than she'd like to admit to herself) when she had surprised herself by thinking of moments like this and thoroughly enjoying it, before quickly pushing the tempting thoughts from her mind. Up to this point, she had successfully hidden the way she felt deep down about her own personal outlaw. She let her eyes drop, and quickly got up, walked a few feet away and then turned to look at him. "I believe you."
"Thank you," he said, his relief evident as he rose from his place on the couch. He stood and regarded her for a moment, then turned to go as his cape swished and billowed behind him.
"Megamind, wait! If you didn't do it, people should know the truth. You have enough of your own problems with the law without taking the blame for someone else's crimes too!" Then she added "You know, I can help you if you'd like."
He slowed when he heard this, and a small smile crossed his lips. His heart skipped a beat as he noticed the concern in her voice that she was trying so hard to hide. He picked up his pace again, and waved a hand nonchalantly in the air. With his voice dripping with exaggerated drama, he replied "Don't bother! I'm the bad guy, remember? The guy they love to hate? Who'd actually believe that I was innocent? And the "law" doesn't concern me in the least! Let's just let this be our little secret. Besides, all this will do is add to my superbly sinister reputation."
He stopped abruptly, and spun toward her with a wicked grin, "By the way, be prepared to be terrified… your doom is near at hand! I'll be back to shung-hia you for this week's e-vil plan... oh, say Thursday morning?"
With a shake of her head, Roxanne rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Yah, sure. Whatever. And it's shanghai, with an A, for your information.".
Ignoring her sarcasm, he continued, "And this time, I'd appreciate it if you'd try a little harder to be a proper victim, and scream for me. You know, this week's plan is going to be particularly terrifying."
Roxanne let out an irritated huff and said "Like that's ever going to happen!".
"Mark my words, one of these days I will get you to scream! Until we meet again, Miss Ritchi!" he called, his voice as smooth as silk, and he turned and walked out her balcony door to his waiting hover bike, as Roxanne watched him go.