AN: I woke up this morning and the first thought on my mind was "I wonder what superpowers the Scorpion team would have." (I'd love to know what I was dreaming about, to have that on my mind.) And the question stuck with me all day, until I finally decided that there was not only a story in there, but also a whole group of stories.

So that's what this is. Each chapter will be a different, completely unrelated AU that will put the team in different situations, time periods, places, and so on. They will feature the three main couples in various degrees of prominence; this first one is basically only hints of Waige, but future chapters will include Quintis and/or Melvester.

Also, yes, I absolutely stole the name Megamind from the Dreamworks animated feature. It just seemed like exactly the sort of thing Walter would name himself.

o.o.o

Today in Los Angeles, the superhero team known as Scorpion has turned what could have been a terrible tragedy into a day of celebration. Although they are newcomers to the superhero scene, from what I've seen here on the streets today, Los Angeles is safer for their being in our city. In response to a bomb threat downtown, the superheroes known as Megamind, Dynamo, the Doctor, and Super Future Guy—

Cabe turned away from the reporter and her camera crew with a snort. "Still can't believe the kid decided to call himself Super Future Guy. And I can't believe you guys let him."

Beside him, Happy smirked. "Letting had nothing to do with it. You don't know him yet, but you'll realize, he might be a pushover 95% of the time, but that other 5% . . ."

"Still," Cabe shook his head. "A real-live superhero naming himself after a comic superhero. You all aren't worried about that looking a little . . . ridiculous?"

Happy glanced down at her outfit—reminiscent of the practical black clothing she wore when she wasn't being Dynamo, except for the huge neon green D on her chest—and grimaced behind her black eye mask. "More ridiculous than this?"

Cabe grinned. "Still not used to the costume?"

"Still not used to being a masked crusader," she corrected. "Not really my style, being in the public eye this much. I'm happier tinkering in the Garage."

"This is a more constructive use of your technopathy, though," Cabe observed. He hesitated. "Why'd you agree to it, if you don't like it?" he asked, although he was fairly sure he already knew the answer. He needed to hear it from her. If he was going to put his career, and his life, on the line for Walter O'Brien's group of superhero misfits, he needed to hear each of them say they were all in on this.

Happy shrugged. "You know W—Megamind." Someday she'd get used to calling her friend by his superhero name when they were in public. Today was not that day. But she didn't feel too bad; this was, after all, their first day as proper superheroes. "He's pretty persuasive. Gave me the whole 'greater good' speech."

"He does that," Cabe agreed with a grin, and it reminded Happy what Walter had told them earlier that day: that he'd first met Cabe more than two decades earlier.

"You've known him a long time," Happy observed. "Did it surprise you, that he finally decided to do the public superhero thing?"

Cabe shook his head. "I'm surprised it took him this long. First time I met him, he'd lost control at a park, when some bullies were picking on his sister; ripped every single tree out of the ground. I get there, and all he can ask me is if he'd hurt anyone. He's got a good heart." He hesitated, then smiled. "And a desperate need for people to know he's clever. This seems like the perfect gig for him."

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Happy grinned.

"Speaking of, where is your illustrious leader?"

Happy jerked her head toward the other side of the square. "Still talking to that waitress."

"Really?" Cabe asked, a smile touching his face. "Been talking to a girl all this time. How about that."

o.o.o

"Are you done throwing up?" Walter asked, and then winced. At this point of his life, he'd learned enough to know when something he'd said was going to make someone mad. Unfortunately, he hadn't yet learned how to avoid saying the things that made them mad.

Sure enough, the waitress—Paige, that was her name—turned from the garbage can to give him a reproachful look. "Thank you for your sympathy, Megamind."

Sarcasm, he was fairly sure. He probably deserved that. "I should have told you beforehand," he apologized. "The flying can be a little . . . disconcerting for regular people."

"Disconcerting is a good word for it," she agreed. "And in the future, you should probably warn people before you pick them up and go flying all over creation."

He blinked, baffled. "You were in danger," he pointed out reasonably. "To have spent time informing you that I was going to rescue you would have wasted time I needed to get you to safety. It would be illogical."

"Yeah, well," said Paige, and discreetly wiped at the corners of her mouth. "Although, I have to say, that was pretty impressive. You can fly and move things with your mind?"

He shrugged. "They're actually both the same power. I'm just moving myself with my mind. It's quite difficult; most telekinetics can't do it."

He would have elaborated, if she 'd asked—nothing quite like a willing listener—but instead she said, "I never did thank you for saving me. For saving all of us."

She had a nice smile, and Walter rather thought he'd like to see it again. So he said, "You did a good job yourself, helping me clear out the square. You have . . . a very calming manner. And you're good at getting people to listen to you." That was actually a quality that was missing from the Scorpion team, come to think of it. He wondered if . . .

"Thank you," she said, and there was that smile again. It was . . . really very pleasant, to see her direct the smile at him. "I'm glad I could help." She hesitated. "Don't suppose you're going to tell me your real name."

"No," he said promptly with a little smile, "that would, ah, defeat the purpose of a secret identity, wouldn't it? That seems to be a vital part of the whole superhero mythos, from my research."

There was something wrong with that statement, he could tell from the look that suddenly entered her eyes—surprised, and curious, and maybe a little amused. "You're new to being a superhero, aren't you?" she asked.

Oh, that's what was wrong with his statement. "Why do you say that?" he said stiffly, reaching up to adjust his mask.

"Well, for one, I've never heard of the Scorpion group before. I didn't think we had any superheroes in LA anymore, after the Commander retired. Two, you keep fidgeting and fiddling with your costume, like you're not used to wearing it. It's new, isn't it? And three, you seem a little unsure of yourself."

Her expression was kind, but still he bristled a little, self-consciously folding his gloved hands across his chest. "Well, maybe we are new to public superhero life, but we are certainly more than equipped to handle anything supervillains can throw at us. I have been a telekinetic all my life, and maybe I haven't—"

"Hey," she said with a placating smile, "I'm not doubting you guys. You stopped the bombers and got everyone to safety, didn't you? I'm just saying, people expect superheroes to have a certain . . . image. A certain persona. You've got to be sure of yourself. Don't admit to strangers that your experience with being a superhero comes from research." And as though to soften the blow of those words, she smiled again.

It worked, and he found himself smiling back. She was really something, this Paige; not a superhero like the Scorpion team, but clever and brave in her way. And better at navigating people than any of Scorpion, or Cabe, definitely. He wondered again if he could find a way . . .

"I should go get Ralph," said Paige, breaking into his thoughts. "My son," she added, as though Walter didn't know; as if he hadn't seen the kid making salt shakers rattle in the diner. "My boss is probably tired of looking after him."

And when Walter interrupted with a "Paige, wait," it was genuinely because he needed to talk to her about Ralph, not because he didn't want the conversation to end just yet. Well, it was mostly because he needed to talk to her about Ralph. "I saw your son, before everything went down. He's a special kid, isn't he?"

She blinked at him a few times. "What do you mean, special?"

"He does things that you almost feel like you can't explain, right? He breaks dishes he shouldn't even be able to reach? He knocks things over in the living room when you could have sworn he was in the kitchen?"

A flicker of recognition ran across her face, along with a darker thread of suspicion. "How do you know that?"

Walter took a step forward. "I know you've told yourself that he's just really clumsy, or that he has undiagnosed ADHD, or even that maybe he's intentionally destructive, but he's not. He's telekinetic, like me. I recognize all the signs; I was just like him as a kid."

Paige blinked. "Telekinetic?" she repeated.

"So, you know, you don't have to give up on being able to keep nice things at home. Find him someone who can teach him control. He's capable of doing amazing things, if he can harness his powers."

A hint of a smile touched Paige's face. "My son . . . he has powers? Like you?"

It did something funny to Walter's chest, to know that the thought of her son being like him made her smile. And he couldn't help grinning, a broad grin that covered his whole face. Something about it made Paige peer oddly at him, as though she was trying to remember something.

And Walter was about to volunteer his services, to be the one who taught Ralph how to control his powers—after all, as one telekinetic to another, he really owed it to the kid, and maybe having someone to show him the ropes would save Ralph from going through the same kind of difficulties Walter had as a child, and also maybe that would allow him to spend more time with Paige—when he heard Toby calling his name.

Or some version of it, anyway. "Hey, Giant Brain!" he yelled. "We need you for a second."

Walter winced. "Please don't go anywhere," he told Paige. "I want to finish this conversation." And he turned and jogged over to where the rest of the team and Cabe stood. "What is it? And please try to remember it's Megamind, all right?"

Toby smirked. "How could I forget that you chose a name that showed such a stunning amount of humility and modesty?"

"Cut it out, you two," said Cabe. "Look, director of Homeland's on the phone here. The test period is over; they've been impressed with what they've seen. They're willing to partner with Scorpion, make your team the point of contact for any threats to LA. But you have to keep me as your handler. Can you live with that?"

Everyone nodded, Sylvester looking thrilled at the prospect of being an official superhero like his idol Super Fun Guy, but Walter knew that the question was really aimed at him. Cabe was asking if their relationship was sufficiently healed from that disastrous mission that Homeland had tricked a sixteen-year-old Walter O'Brien into, the one that resulted in the accidental deaths of thousands. His mouth tightened, but he nodded. "If that's the arrangement we have to make for them to agree to take us on, I can live with that."

Cabe looked pleased, but before he could respond, Toby grabbed Walter's shoulder. "Holy crap," he said. "Did you install wifi at that diner last week?"

Walter blinked in surprise. "Part of my alter-ego's cover," he confirmed. "How did you . . ."

"The waitress," Toby said, nodding in her direction.

Walter turned to see Paige standing where he'd left her, staring at the group with something like shock on her face.

"I thought you decided you wouldn't read our allies unless we had a very compelling reason," Walter pointed out.

"You did say that, Doctor," Sylvester agreed. "You said it made everything too easy."

"I didn't try to read her," said Toby. "Her brain is so unguarded that she might as well be yelling at me."

Somehow that didn't surprise Walter, and he smiled—and then Toby's words clicked. "She's thinking about my job at the diner right now?"

Toby nodded emphatically. "She knows," he hissed. "She recognized the scar on your lip first, and now she's remembering the wifi guy taking an interest in her son, and long story short, she knows your secret identity. She doesn't remember the wifi guy's name, but she's thinking she can go check her boss's invoices and find you."

There was a collective sigh of disappointment from the group.

"First day and we've already got people figuring out your secret identities?" grumbled Cabe.

"Smooth, Megamind," snickered Happy. "I told you we couldn't pull this off."

"I knew this was a bad idea," said Sylvester. "I didn't even need my powers to know that."

"So what do we do?" asked Cabe. "You want to try to force her to keep the secret, or do I call Merrick and tell him we're scrapping the whole thing?"

"I could try to make her forget," offered Toby. "It doesn't always work, and I don't like doing it; it's kind of a dark way to use my powers. But if we don't have any other choice . . ."

And suddenly, everything that had been swirling in the back of Walter's mind coalesced into one clear idea, and he spoke without further thought. "I'm going to ask her to join the team."

Four faces looked back at him with identical baffled expressions. "The waitress?" said Toby. "You want a waitress with no superpowers to join our team of—wait, what are we? Oh yeah, superpowered people."

"Cabe's part of the team," Walter pointed out, "and he doesn't have powers. She wouldn't be out fighting, she'd be support. It's not unusual for superheroes to have support personnel."

"But why her?" Happy asked. "No offense, and I usually trust your judgment, but what is she bringing to the table?"

"People skills," said Walter promptly. "No offense, guys, but you know that's what we're missing here."

"Hey, I'm excellent at reading people," said Toby, affronted.

"Reading their minds," corrected Walter. "But when it comes to dealing with them, you're kind of a narcissist." He pointed at Happy and Sylvester. "And you've got anger issues, and you're scared of your own shadow, and I'm . . ."

"A megalomaniac," said Happy flatly. "Wait, I meant, Megamind. I get those two confused sometimes."

Toby hid a smile.

"The point is," said Walter, "I think we could use someone to help us out when we need to interact with normals." Still the rest of the team looked unconvinced, so he played his trump card. "Besides, she's got a ten-year-old son who's a telekinetic. We have to do something to help him."

At that, everyone's expressions changed; they'd all been born with their powers, and they remembered all too well what it was like to be young and scared and alone, with no idea why they were different from the other kids.

"Fine," said Happy finally, "but can we trust her?"

Cabe turned to Toby. "Doc?"

Toby shrugged. "Nothing that I can access from here throws up any red flags. She's a single mom, works two jobs to take care of her kid. The father, and her parents, are out of the picture. She'd do anything to keep the kid safe."

All eyes turned to Sylvester then. "Oh, fine," he sighed, and made his way over to Paige to shake her hand and thank her for her help. Walter hid a smile. The irony had never been lost on him that the only member of their team who had to touch someone or something to make his powers work was the one who hated touching strange people and objects.

"She's safe," he said when he returned. "I couldn't see a single possible future where she betrayed our trust. Actually she doesn't even tell anyone about Megamind even if we don't bring her into Scorpion. But she's useful, if we do hire her." He smiled. "Also, fair warning, the future where we hire her as support staff is currently the brightest one. Unless something changes drastically in the next few minutes, Megamind is going to win this argument."

Walter smiled. "Thank you, Super Future Guy. Any other objections?"

"I'm fine with her," said Sylvester. "She seems . . . nice."

"Whatever," shrugged Happy. "I guess we need someone to answer the phones."

"I'll have to run a background check on her, but if you guys are okay with it, that's good enough for me." That was Cabe.

Walter glanced at Toby, who nodded. "All right then," he said. "I'll go ask her if she's interested."

"She will be," said Toby. "She hates her current jobs."

Walter pointed at his friend. "If she accepts," he said as the rest of the team cleared out, "you need to stop reading her mind."

"All right, all right," said Toby. "No mind reading among co-workers. I get it. I won't do it again." He grinned. "Not even if you ask me to."

Walter blinked. "Why would I ask you to?"

The answer was very matter-of-fact. "Because you're going to start wondering if she likes you. You know. Romantically."

There was a moment of silence. "Don't be ridiculous," said Walter, after too long a pause.

"I'm not. That, my friend, is a fact."

Walter shook his head. "Don't pretend you can read me. We both know I'm the only mind you've never been able to get into."

But Toby just smiled. "Sometimes I don't need powers." He leaned in close. "I've got eyes, buddy." He clapped Walter on the shoulder. "Go get her, Romeo!"

Preposterous, that's what it was, and as Walter jogged back to where Paige stood, he decided to forget that conversation ever happened.

She'd gotten Ralph back at her side somehow, and the boy looked up at Walter with absolute awe in his eyes. "Hey, buddy," smiled Walter.

Paige was staring at him with equal awe on her face. She was clearly amazed to know the wifi guy had just saved hundreds of lives, and Walter couldn't deny that he liked seeing admiration on her face. Actually it was just nice seeing her face.

And he smiled. He didn't even need Sylvester's powers to tell him that it'd be nice to have them both around.

"So, Paige," he said, "I have a proposal for you."

And the rest, as the saying goes, was history.

o.o.o