"You're quitting?" Metro Man sputtered. "You can't quit!"
Megamind shrugged. "Sure I can. I just did."
He appeared entirely too calm in Metro Man's opinion. Megamind leaned against the post of a water tower with his arms crossed and gazed at him steadily. Three brainbots hovered quietly in the background, their glowing red eyes twitching back and forth between the hero and their Daddy.
The arch-rivals met on neutral ground every once in a while, such as the top of this apartment building, on the rare occasions when Metro Man was fishing for information about the criminal underworld or when Megamind was feeling especially brazen.
"But what about the life sentences?"
"What about them? I just said I was quitting the super-villain business, not turning myself in."
"They're not going to just let you off the hook!"
"So what? Roxanne says that as long as I suspend my criminal activities, she'll be happy. She has no wish to see me spend the rest of my life behind bars, and she won't mind if I have to give the cops the slip every now and again. You know they keep bugging her apartment, and her car? I have half a mind to go talk to the police chief about that." He sighed. "He's favorable to a hefty bribe or two, but I don't think Roxanne would like it. She says she can hire a lawyer and..."
"I knew it. She put you up to this," Metro Man said, making a mental note to check on this 'bribing' accusation.
Megamind chuckled and pushed off from the post. "What's the matter, hero? Upset that a woman has succeeded where you have failed, with all your mighty muscles?"
"No, I'm upset because...because..." Metro Man curled his hands, trying to figure out what he was feeling. "You can't just quit!" he finally blurted.
Megamind huffed out a breath and clasped his hands behind his back. "Quite frankly I was hoping that you would be happier about this. Isn't preventing crime and chaos your whole reason for living? And here I am, promising to stop all acts of villainy, and you're acting like that in itself is a crime."
"Well, what about you? You're always talking about crushing the city beneath your heel. That's your reason for living!" Metro Man jabbed an accusing finger at him. "Suddenly you just change your mind? I don't buy it."
Megamind shook his head. "I don't care what you think." He walked across to the low wall that lined the roof and propped his foot on it. Leaning his elbows on his knee he looked out over the city. "I'm tired of being the bad guy. After all this time, I have discovered that what I really want is a home and a place in the world. I don't have to conquer the city. With Roxanne by my side I feel complete."
Metro Man gaped at him. Ever since the super-villain had begun dating Roxanne, things had been unusually quiet, as far as giant killer robots and crumbling infrastructures went. He was guessing that Megamind was too preoccupied with his new girlfriend to work on any of his usual evil schemes.
He disapproved of Roxanne dating her kidnapper, but she had told him that if he still wanted to be friends, then he damn well better keep his nose out of her business. When Megamind contacted him and asked to meet, Metro Man was sure they had broken up, and Megamind would announce some new evil plan that Metro Man would never be able to thwart, bwahaha.
Not that he wanted the whole thing to blow up in Roxanne's face, he hurriedly told himself, but dating the villain? That was just asking for trouble. She would get sucked into his criminal activities, end up being an accessory to one of his crimes (if she didn't end up committing one or two herself), and wind up in jail, and then she'd be sorry. She would be better off without this scoundrel in her life. Metro Man had been prepared to be a shoulder for her to cry on, and he wouldn't even say 'I told you so.'
Metro Man had never in his wildest dreams imagined that the opposite would happen.
"Justice must be served!" he cried. "You can't escape your sentences just because you say 'I'm sorry, I won't do it again.'"
Megamind raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall saying I was sorry," he said, and his mouth twitched as if he were trying not to laugh. He spread his hands. "I concede the field of battle. I will terrorize Metrocity no more.
"I have grown weary of the game," he said, walking over to one of the brainbots. It swooped low for a pat on the dome. Megamind looked out over the cityscape. "Roxanne has shown me that a way out is possible. I... never expected this."
His face, Metro Man was astonished to see, glowed with wonder.
"I never expected happiness," the villain said quietly.
He shook himself. "It'll be better for Minion, too," he said briskly. "That sweet little fish really shouldn't be going around busting heads all the time, though he's very good at being a henchfish. He seems happier now."
"But...what am I supposed to do?" Metro Man really couldn't believe Megamind would just walk away from their life-long rivalry.
Megamind tilted his head with a slight frown. "There are plenty of criminals around, other super-villains, a certain number of kittens stuck in trees, that sort of thing."
"Yeah, but they're not you." Inwardly, Metro Man kicked himself. I can't believe I just said that. But it was true. It dawned on him that he actually looked forward to Megamind's crazy schemes. No one else threw so many devices of mass destruction at him, or made such clever banter. It was their massive fights that had helped make him the most famous superhero in the world.
A smile spread over Megamind's face. "Aw, you'll miss me. That's sweet. But I'm sure your heroic calendar will fill up like nobody's business."
"You're still dressed like a villain." Metro Man felt like he was running out of ammo.
Megamind looked down at his outfit, the cape that snapped in the wind, the de-gun strapped to his leg. "Why, so I am." Chuckling, he shook his head. "A super-villain," he corrected. "Force of habit. I'm not used to civilian wear. I may have to change my wardrobe. But maybe not. Roxanne likes it." He ran his hand over the lightning bold on his chest and his smile became positively goofy.
"Roxanne likes it," Metro Man said mockingly. "Geez. Do you know what you sound like?"
Megamind bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "Like a man who has a super-hot girlfriend?"
"She's got you twisted around her little finger, doesn't she?" Metro Man said with a surprisingly evil smile. "She's got you whipped."
To his disappointment, even this jab at male pride failed to provoke Megamind. If the blue man's smile got any wider his head would fall off.
"You're just jealous because she loves me and not you," he said, and stuck out his tongue.
"Oh, that's mature!" Metro Man snapped.
"Been nice working with you, Wayne. I must be going. For some unfathomable reason, Roxanne considers you a friend, so I suppose we'll run into each other from time to time." He began walking toward the doorway on the roof.
Suddenly Metro Man was in the air, looming over him. "You're not going anywhere," he said darkly. "You've got a truckload of arrest warrants."
"Six hundred and thirty-seven."
"Whatever. I'm taking you in." Metro Man felt his chest swell with righteous anger. Throwing Megamind in the slammer would wipe that complacent look off his face! The super-villain would be right back in the game in no time.
"Oh very well," Megamind sighed. "But I have just one question. Bigstupidherosayswhat?"
"What?"
"Ha!" Megamind shouted, and threw down the flash bombs. He flung the cape over his face and squeezed his eyes shut.
The super-sighted Metro Man was blinded for several crucial seconds.
Megamind sprinted to the edge of the roof.
"Brainbots!" he shouted. "Initiate getaway!"
He activated the holograms and jumped over the wall. For a split second there was nothing beneath him except for the street twenty stories down, and then the brainbots lurking beneath the roof line caught him under the arms and swooped him around the corner.
Megamind peered around the edge. The three original brainbots were now disguised as himself on the hoverbike. Three Megaminds shot off in three different directions.
Metro Man caught up to the first and dove right through the image. He must have missed hitting the brainbot, though, because the image of Megamind's incredibly handsome form continued to soar away over the skyline.
Then Metro Man shot through it again and smashed the brainbot. The fake Megamind winked out and the brainbot spun through the air. It crash landed on the roof of a skyscraper.
Megamind winced. The big lug was taking it pretty hard. He whispered to the brainbots to lower him to the ground. They set him down in an alley and he activated the holo-watch, disguising himself as a gray-suited businessman. He glanced up at the sky. He couldn't see Metro Man or the two remaining brainbots, but by the sound of the whooshing, he judged that Metro Man had already caught up to the second Megamind-brainbot. He would soon be in hot pursuit of the third.
He patted each of the brainbots who'd flown him to safety. "Hide and wait. When Metro Man leaves the area, locate the fallen brainbots and bring them back to the Lair." They slipped away into the shadows.
Whistling, Megamind left the alley and strolled along the sidewalk with the other pedestrians, and stopped at a news kiosk to buy the Wall Street Journal. He read it as he scanned the sky, noting Metro Man's progress. Not surprisingly, Metro Man flew back to the building where they had their meeting, and flew around it several times, using his x-ray vision on every floor, no doubt.
Megamind smiled. Several people were craning their necks and pointing upward.
"Wonder what he's doing?" a woman asked, shading her eyes.
A man next to her grinned. "Bet he's chasin' bad guys. Yo, Metro Man!" He waved.
Another woman looked around worriedly. "Do you think Megamind's around?"
"You think? Cool! Let's see some action. Punch him out, Metro Man!"
Megamind just kept walking, though his smile faded and the words on the paper became mere scratchings. In a way, he was going to miss those great and mighty battles.
His steps slowed as he explored his feelings. He was getting better at this. Whenever his emotions grew confused, Roxanne encouraged him to slow down and take a look inside. Before, he would simply have thrown himself into his work. He got some of his best ee-vil plans that way.
This is a time of transition, he mused. There were some things he would miss about the villainous life. His lip twitched. But he would not miss getting his butt kicked across the city, or the mockery of the crowd, or the pain.
He truly was weary of being the bad guy. But he wondered if he were doing the right thing, giving up his plan to conquer the city.
Well, of course it was the right thing to do, it was just that he prided himself on choosing the villainous path, and he'd struggled to take over Metrocity for so long...
But it just didn't seem that important anymore. He wanted something else for his life. Something more.
I'm not giving up. My goals have changed.
The day shone brighter. He took a deep breath and smiled. Roxanne believed he could do it, and he would.
His heart swelled at the thought of Roxanne. She was going to meet him at the lair tonight.
Metro Man was flying back and forth overhead, clearly frustrated. He knew nothing of the holo-watch and didn't know that Megamind was walking along right under his nose.
Soon the hero in white flew away.
As Megamind passed by a florist shop, he went in and bought their largest bouquet of red roses. And he even used legally-acquired cash.