A/N: This is intended to be a one shot of Megamind's thoughts and feelings before and during the movie. However, if there is enough good response I will write a lot more to take place after the movie. So let me know if you like it! Oh, and thank you to SilverShepherd for the great idea on the character names!
Edited and polished all shiny new now that I own the movie and refreshed my memory!
All He Ever Needed was a Hoog
Megamind's greatest defeat wasn't to be found in his archives of evil. It wasn't the failed fish beam (It only gave Metroman fins for a short time), the giant brain bot of doom (Overloaded from taking in too many witty quips between the villain and hero), or even his apocalyptic mechanical horse turned cute and cuddly unicorn. No, his greatest defeat was not flashy, did not involve explosions, and was not in the least bit exciting. It was, perhaps, at the very least dramatic.
But let's not start there. Let's start at the beginning. It all began-
"Sir, what are you doing? Everything's ready for - "
"Minion, what did I say about interrupting me when I am about to have a flashback!"
"Oh, right, sorry sir. Just let me know when you're done." Minion backed out of the room, knocking over a few things in the process. Megamind sighed. Really now, the reminiscent mood was completely ruined. Ah well, he would have to set it again. He flicked off the lights and turned on the dark blue emergency lights. There we go. Perfect.
"Now where was I…ah yes…"
It all began with something called a hoog.
Raised on a robust diet of wrongdoing and mischief, his evil creativity never wanted for anything. His intellectual skills flourished as he grew, but despite this he felt that something was missing...something important. He couldn't quite place it because whatever it was, it was something he had never even witnessed. Until the day that he first stepped into his old shool house.
Before he entered he had stayed back in the shadows, watching and evaluating as was his usual mode of action. Other children were being brought in by their parents, all excited smiles and eyes lit up with anticipation. Then the parents would each perform the same action before leaving – They would wrap their arms around their child and touch their lips to their cheeks. Syx didn't know exactly what it was called, but it looked nice. The closest thing he had ever seen to that was when the prisoners would wrestle – and that was never nice. It had never occurred to him that such a gentle action could happen during the physical contact. He tentatively approached one child at the door whose parent had just left.
"What did that tall woman just do to you?" He asked.
"You mean my mother? She just gave me a hug." the boy replied, looking at him as if he were the world's largest headed idiot. He promptly turned away from him and found his seat.
"Hoog. Minion, have you ever heard of anything so wonderful? I must have one of these hoogs for myself."
"But sir, I doubt that these children's mothers just give out hugs for free."
"Not from their parents, Minon. I can win a hoog from one of these mindless drones." Syx said, gesturing to his classmates.
"You mean the children, sir?
"Yes, those."
"Them."
"Semantics, Minon! Now pay close attention, we need to learn more about how to procure a hoog!"
As the days passed he noticed that hoogs were often given in conjunction to familial relationships or in thanks after a favor had been bestowed. In particular, favors bestowed by a very annoyingly popular child – one with special powers and blindingly white teeth named Mark. When he saved someone from something, no matter how inconsequential, a hoog was often given in thanks from the person and a gold star issued from the teacher. It seemed so easy for Mark, yet no matter how hard Syx tried his inventions only made a huge mess of things; and every time it ended with Mr. Perfect Hair getting the hoog instead of him. Eventually he stopped inventing things to impress and started inventing things to remove Mark from his pedestal. Soon he had completely forgotten about hoogs and was well on his way to mastering the art of evil. After all, the bad guy never got the hoogs, as he soon realized.
However, one day the tables turned. A day that soon became lost in his memory, yet later would become a part of the most important epiphany of his entire life. The day that he got to play the hero, and the soon to be Metro Man was the villain.
It was mid-December, and powdered ice coated the ground in a thick blanket. Children played outside the shool house happily, throwing balls of precipitation at each other and gathering it together to make bad approximations of people with acorns for eyes. Truly it was a sad sight; the children had no creativity whatsoever. Fortunately he did, and today was a special day because he had finally finished his new invention that had been inspired by the ice covering everything – the reflecto shield. It was similar to his dodge ball deflecting shield, but had the added ability to reflect beams of light as well – in other words, laser vision. With this he could make himself more invulnerable to the super snot's powers and could make any mischief he saw fit. He was giddy with excitement - the only problem was that his adversary hadn't shown up yet – which did not bode well because Mark was anything if not punctual.
He was in the middle of plotting a plan of action when someone poked him in the back of the head.
"Does your neck ever hurt because your head is so heavy?" asked an inquisitive voice behind him.
"Bwah!" He cried and spun around. A girl with short brown hair and a bright, intelligent gaze stood behind him, a slight smile on her face.
"My name is Roxy, I'm new here. What's your name?"
"Uhh…Ollo Roxy. My name is Syx." Syx said uncertainly.
"Ollo? Do you mean 'Hello'? You must not talk with people very much." She said with a giggle.
"No." He said, his face falling.
Roxy frowned, she hadn't wanted to make him sad, "Oh, but that's ok. You can practice talking with me, if you want." She said with a smile.
Syx looked up, a mixture of disbelief and excitement on his face, "Really?"
"Why not? I like finding interesting stories, and you're the most interesting looking person here."
She must not have met Mark yet, he thought glumly to himself, the others were far more interested in him.
"So…when you get a sunburn do you turn darker blue?" Roxy asked, hoping to get his mind off whatever kept making him frown.
"Sun…burn?"
"You know, when you stay outside for too long, you get a sunburn."
"I don't get outside very much."
"Oh. Why not?"
"The warden isn't very lenient with me on that subject ever since I broke out of the prison with my solar powered laser."
"You have a laser? Can I see?" Roxy said, curiously looking here and there as if he must be hiding it behind his back, completely missing the words 'warden' and 'prison' in his sentence.
Syx's lips twitched up in a small smile, "I don't have my laser with me, but I DO have my dehydration gun."
"What does that do?" Roxy asked with wide-eyed wonder.
Syx was about to show her (surely Minion wouldn't mind demonstrating again, he was a very patient fish, after all) when something that sounded like a crack of thunder interrupted him.
"What was that?" Roxy cried, whirling around. Syx had a pretty good idea of what - or should he say who - it was, but was now less excited about the entrance of his adversary. Mark always did have perfect timing, and today it was the perfect timing to interrupt Syx's first chance at making a friend. Mark would swoop in, Roxy would be taken in by his shining charisma and he wouldn't stand a chance of keeping her.
"Who is that? He looks really gross."
Gross? That wasn't the word usually used to describe Mr. My-teeth-are-so-white-it-blinds-people-when I-smile.
Syx turned and there stood Mr. Perfect…looking much less than perfect. His cheeks were an unhealthy red, his skin pale and clammy. His eyes were watery and his nose was dripping liquids. Could it be possible? Syx had seen this ailment exhibited by his classmates before…it was called the floo. But how could Mark have caught it with his super invulnerability to everything? Could it be a rare strain of…super floo? The possibilities were mind boggling.
"I need to get a sample, this super floo could be the answer to his ultimate defeat!" He muttered to himself excitedly.
Roxy turned back to Syx.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
"Ib doesn't mabber whab he ib talking aboub. Whabeber ib is, ib's ebil!" Said Mark, flying in between her and Syx
Roxy snorted with laughter at Mark's attempt at speech.
Mark furrowed his brow, "Ib's best -snooork- if you bay away from bis one, miss. He's always up to no goob."
"GOOB!" Roxy cried, now nearly incapacitated with laughter. After she managed to calm herself down, she looked him square in the face and said, "You can't tell me what to do."
Syx laughed. He was really beginning to like this girl.
"Bub miss-" He was interrupted as his face contorted with an effort to withhold a sneeze, in vain. Roxy ducked just in time as the sneeze rocketed out of his mouth and nearly tore the small tree behind her out of the ground. One of the roots sprang up and tripped her, and she fell to the ground.
Syx could see that his adversary was far from done with his sneezing attack. In fact, Mark seemed to be working up to a sneeze of epic proportions. If Mark were to sneeze again and Roxy was unable to get out of the way, it could end very badly. Quickly Syx got out his newest invention, the reflecto shield, turned it on, and dove in front of Roxy just in time before a tremendous sneeze rocketed past them. His schoolmates had already gone inside, so the only damage done was to the hapless snowmen and women, now mere piles of icy mush.
His adversary flew off, hitting a tree before flying wobbly back in the general direction of his home. He must have finally realized the damage he was doing in his current state; at least he was somewhat reasonable. Syx heard a sob behind him, and saw that Roxy was now sitting up, her arms covered with scrapes. He went over to her and helped her up.
"I'm not very good at fixing people." He said morosely, brushing the dirt off her scrapes gently. Suddenly her arms were around him. A thrill of excitement ran through him; was this a hoog? It was even more wonderful than he suspected. He patted her on the back awkwardly, overcome with emotion.
"It's ok," Roxy said with a sniff, "It could have been a lot worse. Like that time I fell off my bike. Momma was so upset she almost stopped taking me out biking."
"Biking?"
Roxy pulled away from him and smiled, "It's a lot of fun, maybe I can show you some time!"
"I…I would like that."Syx said shyly.
"Roxanne Regina Ritchi, what on earth has happened to you?" a shrill cry came from the street. Syx jumped away from Roxy as he saw a tall woman running over to her. He knew it was too good to be true.
"Nothing Mama, I just fell down."
Her mother looked around at the scene of destruction before her, "I don't think so young lady. I had my doubts about this school and now I see they were justified. It's a good thing I had to come back to bring your lunch! Come along dear, let's get you into a decent, normal school."
Without another word, and ignoring Roxy's pleas, her mother dragged her back to the car.
Syx never saw her at his shool house again. He didn't recognize her years later when she became Metro Man's (so called) girlfriend, and his regular kidnapee. It wasn't until after Metro Man's death that the memory he had buried so long ago resurfaced. On that fateful day when he had invaded his own secret lair in the guise of Bernard…and received a hoog in thanks for his help from Roxanne. The wonderful feelings the embrace invoked brought back his memory of her from before in a rush.
It was destiny giving him a second chance! He remembered the embrace; he remembered how good it felt to be wanted, to save someone from harm. As his bond with Roxanne deepened he began to seriously question his role as villain. He found himself cleaning up the city, returning the goods he had stolen, and doing other things he would never had considered before. Those dates had been the happiest time in his life – and the only victories he felt he could truly claim for himself.
"Sir, are you done yet?" Minion's muffled voice called through the door.
"Silence Minion! I'll have to start the flashback over again if you keep interrupting!"
"Yes sir, sorry sir."
Megamind grumbled to himself. Minion really could be a hindrance to his mighty thought processes sometimes. Some dramatic music started piping through the secret lair's com system and Megamind smiled. Of course, Minion did know him best. In fact, Minion was the only one who even bothered to listen to what he had to say. That was until his date with Roxanne…
On that date he had found himself blissfully gazing up at sun drenched, cloud dappled sky, holding the hand of a woman who he was telling things about himself he had never admitted to anyone but Minion.
"Well, in sh-school, none of the other kids really liked me. I was always the last one picked for everything" He admitted.
"Hm…It's too bad that we didn't go to the same school." Roxanne said, taking his hand, and showing him a gentle smile. He blushed, and looked away. He was so used to her sarcastic quips that it amazed him every time she said something like that - and about him. Granted, she thought he was that hopeless dweeb Bernard…but the personality was all his. She was accepting him for who he was on the inside.
"Didn't you have any friends?" Roxanne asked gently.
"Well, one really good friend, yes. He's stayed with me through it all."
"He sounds like a great person. I'd love to meet him sometime."
"I'm sure you've seen him around."
"Really, where?"
"Well, you know…uh…people do get around."
Roxanne raised an eyebrow, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"What? There isn't anything fishy about it, he just happens to be around a lot."
Fishy? Really? Megamind mentally pummeled himself. Honestly, he could say the most stupid things around her. It was a wonder she hadn't already guessed his true identity by now.
Roxanne gave him a bemused look, then shook her head, "I have to say Bernard, you aren't anything I expected you to be."
"And you're everything I expected you to be, and more." Megamind said with a smile, giving her hand a squeeze. Roxanne blushed lightly, a smile coming back to her face. To his surprise he found his own cheeks growing warm as a pleasant fluttery feeling spread through his abdomen. Wasn't this what people called "butterflies"? He'd previously only got the feeling when he was about to experience a particularly hard defeat…but now the feeling was being redefined. Everything was being redefined with Roxanne, and it was both frightening and exhilarating at the same time.
"What's on your mind?" Roxanne asked, propping herself up on her elbow.
"Oh…uh…nothing important." Megamind said, cursing his deepening blush, "What I mean is, I'm very glad I met you…It's nice to have another person in my life."
"You mean, it's always been just you and your friend?"
"Well…I suppose so, yes. My parents died when I was very young so I spent my early days in a pr-orphanage. The people who were there with me weren't that bad, but I never got really close to them."
"I'm sorry, that must have been hard for you." Roxanne said, her expression downcast.
"Oh, I don't mind it now, really! After all, it's those experiences that made me who I am today…I learned much from my troubles." Megamind backtracked, upset that he had made the smile leave her face.
"Well from now on, you have someone to help you with your troubles." Roxanne said with an encouraging smile and lay back down, cuddling up to him.
Megamind was amazed at the complexity and intensity of the emotions Roxanne invoked in him with those words, and by the feel of her warm body next to his. Never before had he felt so contented, excited, and awestruck at the same time. It was overwhelming.
As the contented silence between them elongated, Megamind could not stop his mind from wandering to less contended subjects. Would she feel this way if she knew who he really was? Probably not. But did that make what they had less meaningful? Despite the fact that he was borrowing the appearance of Bernard, he was pretty much being himself; minus a few quirks here and there that might give him away, of course. But still! She hadn't been entranced by Bernard's geeky cuteness, she had been taken in by his otherworldly charm. Right? But then again she had seemed very interested in Metro Man and he wasn't exactly the most deep of individuals.
"So…you really weren't even the slightest bit interested in Metro Man?" Megamind asked. Roxanne looked to the side as if she were considering telling him something but wasn't sure if she should. This couldn't be good…what if she hadn't been interested in Metro Man for a relationship but for sheer animal attraction? That would be even worse! He couldn't possibly live up to that man's raw virility…Metro Man was a veritable magnet to women.
"Well…I wouldn't tell you this if he were still alive because it's a very personal secret, but I suppose it won't do any harm now. Metro Man…isn't a man."
"You mean he was a woman?" Megamind asked, his eyes wide as saucers.
"No!" Roxanne chuckled, "No nothing like that. He wasn't really either. Everyone forgets that Metro Man was just as much of an alien as Megamind - probably because Metro Man didn't have a giant blue head. But the truth is…his species didn't reproduce the same way we do. He's pretty much completely asexual."
"Really? How…enlightening…" If only he had known this little tidbit of information before! Oh the shame he could have brought down on Metro Man…it would have been so sweet! Wait a second…if she knew that, then how did she…
"How do you know? Did you…look?"
"No! Ew. Of course not. Ok, not that I wasn't a little curious…who wouldn't be? He confided it to me after the first time he saved me. He told me how frustrating it was to have to pretend to go on dates and be interested in people and then have to fend them off as politely as he could before they found out his secret. I figured that wasn't very fair to him, and I wanted to find a way to help, so I came up with a proposition that would be mutually beneficial. I would pretend to be his girlfriend which would give me exclusive reporting rights on him and allow my career to advance…and he would get immunity from all the unwanted advances. He was happy, I was happy and the public was happy. Though I have to admit, I really did miss stuff like this." She said, placing a kiss on his cheek. Megamind beamed like a schoolboy who just got a pet puppy, then turned to face her, his forehead touching hers.
"Wow. I never knew Metro Man's life was so…complicated." He said after a moment.
"Being a hero makes life a little complicated…but it's always worth it. After all, the hero does get the girl. Just like you got me after our adventure in Megamind's lair."
She snuggled closer to him and as silence fell between them, once again he couldn't help the one doubtful thought that was at the forefront of his mind to pop up again: did he really want to be the villain any more?
That doubt began a line of doubts that only kept expanding in his mind until that fateful night…
Roxanne was late. He had been waiting at the restaurant for at least half an hour, and he was worried that she wasn't going to come. At first he feared something had happened to her; despite his brain bots patrolling every night muggers still ran rampant in some parts of the city. Then he realized that Roxanne would never be so careless. She knew the bad areas of town and would plan her route accordingly.
Then a thought came to him that made his stomach lurch. What if she had found out his secret? What if she disappeared from his life, never even giving him a chance to explain?
He decided then and there that he would have to find a way to slowly ease her into the idea that he was Megamind. Even with his amazing abilities of subterfuge and disguise, the closer they got the more likely it was that she would find out. Besides that, continuing to outright lie to her was…wrong. The thought amazed him. When he began this charade, the fact that it may have been wrong never crossed his mind. It was simply a means to an end; he wanted to spend more time with Roxanne, and the only way to do that would be to do so disguised as Bernard. Now, however, he kept feeling guilty about his deceit. He didn't understand why until he realized that it was because he knew how much it would hurt her to find out…and he didn't want to do anything to hurt her. He never had, actually. Not even when he kidnapped her and threatened her life; even when he put her in those contraptions that could so easily maim her…he knew deep down that if Metro Man somehow failed to save her he never would have allowed her to be hurt. The revelation was shocking, to say the least. It was a change inside him that he never even noticed until it came up and bit him in the rear.
He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. All of this was so new and confusing. He was beginning to question the very essence of who he had become, and he wasn't sure which way to turn. He sighed as his eyes fell on the table candle which had gone out. Looking around surreptitiously he quickly re-lit the candle with his laser.
Just then Roxanne walked up, her hair blown back and looking generally disheveled.
"Bernard!"
"Roxanne!" He said, jumping a little. Did she see him with the laser? No, her face read apologetic not 'I'm filled with murderous rage for your deceit!'.
"Sorry I'm late."
"Wow, your hair looks…exciting." He commented with a smile.
"Not the only exciting development of the night!" She said, and to his horror began unraveling his plan. Was he that transparent? Had she found out his secret as well and was merely playing with him? No, no, she wasn't like that. He managed to calm himself enough to change the subject after they shared a toast.
"Roxanne?"
"Yes?"
"Say I wasn't so…normal? Let's say I was bald, and had the complexion of..of a popular primary color as a random, nonspecific example? Would you still enjoy my company?"
"Of course! You don't judge a book by its cover, or a person from the outside-"
"Ohhh" He sighed, "That's a relief to hear."
"-you judge them based on their actions." She finished.
"Well that seems kind of petty, don't you think?"
Roxanne laughed, clearly thinking it was a joke. He wasn't sure whether he meant it as a joke or not, but that was quickly put from his mind as she drew closer. This was it! This was his chance to experience a kees!
When his lips touched hers his mind was clouded over with a white hot haze that blinded his senses. This was incredible! He felt as if he were soaring above the clouds - as if he could do anything! Elation, excitement, and so many other hormone induced feelings were fighting to get his attention that he didn't even notice when her hand slipped over his watch, switching his holo-disguise off.
For a few blissful moments both he and Roxanne were unaware of what had just happened until a child's scream broke her out of her reverie and she opened her eyes. Suddenly he was shoved back, and the horrified gazes of over twenty people were all on him. Disbelief, rage, and heartbreak all fought for a place on Roxanne's shocked gaze.
"What? What?" He noticed his hands had returned to their normal gloved state and his eyes widened with horror.
"DON'T LOOK AT ME!" He screamed, and threw his hands over his head as if that would be enough to disguise the obvious, "Just…just a technical glitch!." His eyes darted around the room, hysteria replacing rational thought, "Don't look yet!" He fumbled with his watch. Damn, that was the warden! He could fix this, if only he could find the right holo-disguise! Wasn't Bernard the third click on the left?
"Where were we?" He said, turning back to her. He cursed inwardly. No, that was Space Dad! That was just going to freak her out more! She threw her drink in his face.
"You…YOU!" She didn't bother to say any more as she ran out of the restaurant.
For a moment he couldn't move as feelings overwhelmed him. After a while he looked up to find himself alone in the restaurant. Ah yes, that was the response he was used to. He had gotten so accustomed to being in the guise of Bernard that he had almost forgotten what it was like to stand out. For a while, he had almost felt…normal. His relationship with Roxanne had made him feel accepted for the first time in his life. He didn't want to give that up. He had to try to salvage what he had with her, even if she would only reject him in the end. He jumped out of his chair, ran to his car and caught up to her as quickly as he could.
"I can explain - !"
She turned away from him with a frustrated noise.
"What about everything you just said? About judging a book by its cover!
Well lets take a look at its contents then, shall we? You destroyed Metro Man, you took over the city, and then you actually got me to care about you! Why are you so evil? Tricking me? What could you possibly hope to gain?" She stopped and stared at him.
Megamind hoped to anything out there that may be listening that his thoughts and feelings were not as clear on his face as he suspected, but when Roxanne's gaze slowly changed from enraged to dawning, horrified comprehension he knew she could see right through him – like she always had.
"Wait a minute. Oh - I don't believe this. Did you really think that I would ever be with you?"
Megamind couldn't say anything as his world came crashing down around him. He never realized how much emotion, how much of his future hopes and dreams he had invested in her until this moment, when she was tearing them apart before his very eyes. Now all that was left was the one thing he had always known from the start; the bad guy did not get the girl; and he was the bad guy. Nothing would ever change that. It was foolish of him to ever think otherwise.
"No." He said quietly, and watched helplessly as she walked away.
Even that moment, a moment where he had lost everything that he had ever wanted wasn't his greatest defeat. That was still yet to come.
"Can you please take off the bag? You still haven't washed it!"
"Sorry Miss Ritchi, laundry day is tomorrow." Minion said apologetically as he removed the bag and replaced it with a blindfold. Roxanne sighed. She didn't know what Megamind was after, especially since he had theoretically given up the villain gig…but after all that had happened she didn't have the patience for it.
"Can you at least tell me why he's taking so long?" Roxanne asked Minion.
"He's having a flashback sequence."
"A what?"
"A flashba-"
"I heard what you said, but it doesn't make sense."
"It's kind of like monologueing…only inside his head and with pictures."
"About what?"
"Something in his past, no doubt."
"Can't you just bring me in and get this over with?"
"Last time he had to completely stop a flashback sequence he was moody for days after. It's best to just ride it out."
Roxanne sighed, "He's such a drama queen."
"I wouldn't call him a drama queen…more of a Drama Emperor. It was Metro Man who was the drama queen."
Roxanne opened her mouth to disagree, but then stopped, "…You may have a point."
"In any case, I'm sure he's almost done."
"Sooo…." Roxanne said.
"Checkers, or Jenga?" Minion asked cheerfully.
"Jenga. I still haven't been able to beat you at that." Roxanne in a resigned, but amused tone. It was just like the old days all over again.
"What can I say, I have a gift." Minion said proudly.
Inside the room Megamind sat with an intense frown on his face as he was lost in memory.
He was at an ultimate low in his life. His romantic hopes had been shattered, his villainous dreams trampled, and he had to set his pride aside to ask Roxanne to help him clean up his mess. It couldn't possibly get worse, or so he thought.
When he had come upon his old shool house perched atop the cliff it had brought back a plethora of bad memories; reminders of all his first failures. Walking through Metro Man's sanctuary had reminded him of the good old days, when Metro Man and his sharp tongued girlfriend had inspired his evil genius to greater heights, and challenged him on a level he quite enjoyed. Metro Man had offered the perfect puzzle for him; how could one destroy something that was indestructible? Megamind had always loved puzzles, and this one had the advantage of being interactive.
When he had first seen Metro Man, standing there with a sandwich in hand, he was certain it had to be a ghost. Not because he was superstitious, but because he was certain that there was no possible way Metro Man could be alive and not have tried to stop his diabolical plot to recreate him. In his mind Metro Man had an established set of rules that he always followed, so clearly he couldn't actually be alive.
But when "Music Man" began to regale them of the mid-life crisis that led to the faking of his death, Megamind's illusions came crashing down around him. What's more is that it turned out Metro Man had never been challenged by him, never enjoyed their banter, and in fact had always seen their fights as a petty and tiresome game. So much so that he felt he needed to fake his death to escape it.
All of his hard work, evil planning, great wardrobe, and well planned out witty retorts had been for nothing. Metro Man had never seen him as a worthy adversary.
If he wasn't a worthy adversary how could he ever hope to clean up the mess he had made with Titan?
He walked out of there in a daze, not sure what, if anything, he could do about all this.
"Hey, who needs him!" Roxanne said, "We can beat Titan ourselves! I say we go back to the evil lair, grab some ray guns, hold him sideways and just go all gangsta on him!"
Roxanne's feisty optimism would have worked any other time, but after what had been revealed today he wasn't sure that he was even worthy to be Metro city's villain…never mind its hero!
"We can't." He said with a sigh, discarding Metro-man's retro cape.
"So that's it? You're just giving up?" She asked, disbelief tingeing her voice.
"I'm the bad guy! I don't save the day, I don't fly off into the sunset, and I don't get the girl. I'm going home."
So he had done the thing he had always done after a defeat; he had gone back to jail. Only this time it wasn't flashy or interesting…it was far worse. It was a defeat of the spirit. And even that wasn't his greatest defeat.
It came only hours later, when he had been automatically flipping through the channels and had come across Hal's ugly face plastered all over the screen. He was about the change the channel again when Roxanne's face came into view. Titan had kidnapped her, just like Megamind had many times before; but this time Roxanne was different. There was no defiant gleam in her eyes, she wasn't fighting against her restraints, she wasn't even mouthing off to Titan like she had to Megamind all those times. Titan had done to her what Megamind had never been able to accomplish: strike fear into her heart. Now that Megamind saw that in her he realized that he never really wanted that. The look in her eyes was…broken. Resigned to her fate. It was at that moment when she was pleading for her life that he realized – his greatest defeat was also hers because he loved her. More than anything he ever had in his life.
Titan really meant to kill her. He wasn't in it for a challenge; he wasn't in it to better his mastery of villainy. Titan just wanted to hurt someone, and it was either going to be Megamind or Roxanne; probably both if he could get away with it. Megamind couldn't allow that to happen.
Fortunately, his greatest defeat also led to his greatest victory.
After he defeated Titan and brought him to jail (now that was something novel for him!) he barely had time to even think about Roxanne until the next morning. She had gone back to her own apartment to sleep, stating that she needed time to 'sort out her feelings'. This didn't make any sense to him since she had seemed so happy to see him after the battle. Then again, that could have been the adrenaline rush doing its happy work.
He was plagued with doubt about this, and that wasn't an emotion he was used to experiencing. He didn't like it. Clearly something would have to be done about it. So he did what he did best. He made a plan.
Megamind sat up, his eyes alit with a new determination.
"MINON! Bring in the hostage!"
Minion brought in Roxanne and put her in the chair, took off her blindfold, and slowly backed out of the room with a knowing smile on his face.
Roxanne opened her eyes and saw that she was in a large, domed room. However it wasn't the observatory…the room was completely empty except for the single chair in the center that she occupied.
"Megamind, what are you up to this time?" Roxanne said in a resigned tone.
"Miss Ritchi," Megamind tutted, "You should realize by now that I am immune to your nosy reporter skills"
Roxanne sighed and rolled her eyes. What game was he playing now? She thought she had made it quite clear that she didn't want to see him for a while.
"Megamind-"
"Say no more! Simply observe." With a flourish he turned on a switch and the dome began to light up. Colors of a reflected sunset over the ocean rippled and heaved with the waves in front of her, and behind her were mountains set to a backdrop of glittering twilight.
Her mouth hung open, amazed at the beauty of the place. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The mountains were a deep purple and ebony, shining almost like glass, and were dotted with shades of red and pink which she could only assume were trees. The sky was like any other, only behind her where night was creeping in she could swear she saw two slivers crescents of light accompanying each other in sky instead of just one.
"I've never shown this to anyone before…not even Minion." Megamind said, his voice hushed.
"What…what is this place?" She asked in awestruck wonder, momentarily forgetting her frustrations with him.
"This…is my homeworld. My parents saved holo images of some of my planet's most beautiful spots and stored it, along with other information, in my pod's computer. This particular spot…is where my parents brought me when I was five days old. I remember it as clearly as it is displayed here; my species become completely self aware in as little as two days after birth. In some ways I have considered that a blessing…and in other's a curse. This place was where my parents were going to build a home for all of us…but plans change when a power-obsessed race of beings unleashes a black hole as a weapon."
"A black hole as…a weapon?" Roxanne asked, appalled, "Who?"
"No one knows. There wasn't enough time to do a proper investigation. Whoever they were, they're gone now. I doubt they knew much about the technology because instead of destroying a single target it doomed an entire quadrent's worth of populated worlds. Hundreds of trillions of lives…gone."
Roxanne paled. She had never really known much about Megamind's past…she could never have guessed it was this terrible. Before she could speak, Megamind interrupted her.
"But, I didn't bring you here to depress you, or to elict pity. The point I'm trying to make is…my parents gave up all they had, used their remaining time to construct a way out for me. I never understood why. Why didn't they instead build pods for themselves? At least…I never understood until I met you. Until I saw you in peril and I realized I had to do everything in my power to save you…even if I had to give up my own life."
Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes, "At first I didn't understand it. It wasn't logical at all, but I knew with every fiber of my being that I had to save you…or my own life would no longer be worth living. I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't do everything I could to save you."
Roxanne looked away, overcome with emotion. Megamind walked up to her and took her hands.
"Roxanne, I love you. All I ask is that you give me a chance to show you just how much."
He looked up to meet her gaze again, surprised to find that tears were streaming down her face. He wiped them away gently.
"Roxanne, don't cry. I didn't mean to make you sad," Megamind said, his voice tremulous. Roxanne's lip quavered with an effort to hold back a sob, but she couldn't help it. She felt so many conflicting emotions right now it was overwhelming. Megamind took her into his arms and held her tight.
"I'm afraid I'm not very good at fixing people." Megamind murmured forlornly.
Roxanne's eyes widened with sudden revelation, "Syx," she whispered.
"Six? Six what?" Megamind said, confused. Why would she be babbling about numbers at a time like this?
"You're that little boy. All this time, I can't believe I never remembered!" Roxanne said, her tears drying as her emotions began to resolve themselves. She turned to face him just in time to see the dawning realization on his face.
"Roxy." He said with a smile.
Roxanne couldn't deny it any longer. She had spent the last two weeks trying to convince herself that she couldn't possibly have feelings for him after what he pulled…but after his confession it was no longer possible.
"Syx…I love you too."
His eyes widened an almost comical amount, and he drew her in an even tighter hug. He hadn't heard his real name used in addressing him since he was a small child…and even then never in endearment. It felt good.
"So you'll stay with me?" He asked with such enthusiasm that Roxanne couldn't help but laugh.
"Yes."
Syx spun her around with glee, then reluctantly set her down when she dizzily protested.
Roxane began to laugh, and Syx looked at her oddly.
"What is so funny? It's not the pants, is it? I thought they might be too tight, but – "
"No, it's not that (although you might want to look into a wardrobe change, pants like that don't breathe well). I was just thinking of exactly what I've gotten myself into. I have no idea how I'm going to explain this to my mom. She had her heart set on me being with a gun-toting he-man lumberjack who could 'provide for the family'" She said in a mock shrill voice.
"I tote lasers. Does that count?" Megamind said with a half smile.
Roxanne giggled, "Well I don't' think she had someone with a big blue head in mind," She walked up to him and rest her arms on his shoulders, "But it doesn't matter. It's what I want so it's what I'm going to have."
"I like those sentiments!" Syx said, one eyebrow raised suggestively.
"Now now, none of that on an empty stomach. Minion kidnapped me before I had the chance to eat my lunch"
"Ohh, Minion makes these wonderful things, they're called pan cayks with seerup!"
"Sounds wonderful to me." Roxanne said with a laugh as they walked out of the dome hand in hand.
So let me know what you guys think! I used Megamind as his name up until Roxanne remembered because her acceptance of him really defined the change from the villain Megamind to the one who got the girl. Thanks for being patient for this last chapter, it was a fun ride BLUE glitter stars to those who review! (the most popular primary color ;) )