The Neckwalkers were on the news again"—those pesky bastards." Megamind blinked tiredly at Roxanne and some other reporter on the TV screen, exhausted from constant work—the Neckwalkers being his main target. They were a stealthy couple who cooperated with each other with such perfection it made them difficult to track; normally they robbed banks or huge corporations, but sometimes they robbed minor stores and museums—they're even suspected of some murders, but there was no where near enough evidence to prove it. They always worked together, but alone—no one else ever cooperated with their efforts, they did everything on their own to make sure there was no one to give them out. There was one thing for sure about them: not only were they stealthy, but they were clever. Megamind assumed since they had so much money, they probably also lived in a glamorous house or mansion—that greatly narrowed down his search, but something just didn't seem right; something seemed missing and out of place. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like some sort of evidence was right there in front of him. But what was it? What lead could he have that he didn't notice they had yet? It just didn't make sense.

Minion walked into the room, his old mechanical body had undergone lots of remodeling and it looked ready to handle anything. The ape-look was gone for a more human-like appearance—the adorable fish even got his own hero outfit to wear over his new body, which was Roxanne's idea and Megamind had a very hard time refusing it. "Sir?"

Megamind spun his chair around to face Minion. "Yes, Minion?" He slightly slurred. "I hope you've brought me some good news?"

"Sadly. . . no, sir." Minion replied, looking uncertain. "In fact, the Neckwalkers are at it again right as we speak."

Megamind jumped up from his chair, sending it wheeling backwards and then it fell over. "Minion! Get the car!"

"Yes sir!"

Meanwhile, in an old, barely-kept hotel with broken-down elevators, white-washed walls with dents in them, and old carpets and wooden flooring rotting slightly with mold, a young 14-year-old girl sat in her room on the sixth floor. Despite the "No Pets" sign in the front of the hotel, a large, muscular female Rottweiler laid quietly and obediently next to her bed. The bitch had healthy black fur with hardly any markings except for a deep dark brown around her eyes, scruff, and mouth.

The floor the dog laid on was obviously self-tended by the owner of the room, because the carpet was a bright new blue that smelled fresh and clean. The room didn't contain much at first glance, but the walls were repainted and bookshelf looked polished and pretty. There was only one window in the center of the room and it refused to look upon the girl, who laid on her bed all the way on the left side of the room. A desk with an old-fashioned laptop was on the opposite side of the room, but it seemed to have not been messed with for days or weeks.

Ellie Heart raised her icy eyes up from her notebook, the long, messy black hair on her head falling into her eyes. The eyes looked sad and almost void of emotion at the same time, black discoloration surrounded the clear blue spheres—enlightening the world to her lack of sleep and the hidden stress she didn't expose on purpose. Without making a single sound, she stood up and walked over to the small bookshelf and carefully placed the notebook in it. She sighed—but quietly, so as for the walls and still air to not hear her.

"Come on, Mistzy," She said, turning to the dog who perked up instantly. The bitch stretched and yawned like a cat almost, then strutted over to her master. Ellie petted Mistzy's head, then walked over to the window, unlatched it, then stepped out onto the weak metal stair cases leading down to the alleyway. Without making a sound, she scurried down the alleyway with her dog off to a pet store. On her way there, she spotted a TV set in a window of the mechanics store and stopped to watch it.

A pretty brunette with sapphire eyes was currently walking about a scene going on at the Metro City Great Bank. "It appears that once again the Neckwalkers have gotten away. The police and Megamind are currently on the scene looking for evidence." Ellie watched the screen intensely, she loved watching to news to see Megamind—always had. She especially loved watching Megamind VS Metro Man battles on TV back when Megamind was a villain, but she never stopped loving seeing him on the news. In fact, she had every single recording of Megamind ever made on her laptop and thousands of pictures of him. The only ones who understood her obsession with Megamind happened to be her imaginary friends, Alice and Heart.

Two figures that only Ellie could see, stood beside her and watch the TV with their own unique expressions. Alice was dressed in all black leather that would otherwise be fitting for an empress or some rich, beauty queen, had black eyes and black hair, she stood taller than Ellie and smiled at the screen with a wise and caring expression. She looked full of herself from head to toe. The other figure, Heart, was wearing a smooth, white dress made of fake silk and grey seams. She had white hair and white melancholy, careless, sleepless eyes of a dead woman.

Suddenly, Ellie perked up and pointed to something on the screen. 'That's my parents' car!' She thought. 'There's no mistaking it! There's a dent on the the right bumper and a smiley-face mirror clip!'

"That was definitely their car. I'm completely positive about that—there's zero doubt AT ALL in my mind." Alice confirmed.

"Ehh," Heart rolled her eyes and disagreed. "It could've been anybody's car, Alice—don't get Ellie falsely thinking that her parents have something to do with the Neckwalkers."

'Heart's right, Alice. . . and since they never work with anybody, they'd end up having to be the Nightwalkers if they were involved.' Ellie thought intellectually. 'Besides, mom and dad ALWAYS argue—they scream at each other all day long, there's no way at all they're the Neckwalkers."

"Listen to the girl, Alice—you're so over-confident in yourself."

Alice rolled her eyes at Heart dramatically. "You'll see, Heart! Won't she Ellie?"

Ellie thought back nothing, for she hated it when her friends argued and didn't like taking sides—knowing it would only increase the tensions. The news report was over on the Neckwalkers, but it switched to a report about the Fire Gang—a dangerous group of villains who sought to burn Metro City out of house and home with stolen technology from Megamind's Not-So-Evil-Lair. Suddenly, there was a loud boom and a flash of light that sent Ellie flying backwards into the street.