It was December, 24, and in Metro City was snowing like hell, "thanks" to the lake effect.
"Sir, please, this year don't go to kidnap Miss Ritchi, you've been still recovering from that nasty cold. This weather is awful, and I'm worried about your health!" the ichthyoid said with a worried tone of voice.
Megamind was fully prepared for that weather: he wore his usual leather and spandex suit, and under that, he wore a special undersuit made of a special material that protected him from the cold.
"Nonsense, Minion, I took the medicines and I rested, and I am fairly protected. Also, I promise you if something happens, I would call you with the watch, ok? Worry not, my fishy friend! Prepare the usual get up for Kurisumas, ok?" he said cheerfully at his henchfish.
The fish knew that was useless to debate with him, so he shrugged and said, "Ok, Boss, I will prepare all the things...be careful," he finished with a worried tone.
Megamind smiled at him, and he went into the invisible car, driving towards Roxanne's building.
Roxanne was in her apartment, watching some Christmas movies on her pay-per-view channel.
She was relaxed, because she thought that - with such weather - Megamind wouldn't show up to kidnap her.
The doorbell rang, and she wondered who it was out loud, "Maybe it is one of my neighbor," going toward the door.
She was so sure, that she didn't even checked the spy hole.
When she opened the door, she remained frozen for a while, seeing Megamind standing outside, smiling at her.
"May I come in, Miss Ritchi, or I have to use my de-gun?" he said merrily, seeing her reaction.
She sighed, and let him enter the apartment. "Megamind, you are really stubborn. I know that you always kidnap me on Christmas Eve, but I thought that, with a weather like this, today I was going to remain at home," she stated sulking.
The blue alien raised a finger in the air, and said, smiling wildly, "Evil never stops, even in bad conditions, Miss Ritchi!"
Then he started to sneeze like mad, and when he had finished that, Roxanne said, "Bless you!"
He wanted to thank her, but he began to have a coughing fit, very violent, and the brunette blinked, wondering if he was gonna stop, before choking.
The coughing didn't stop, and he was turning purple, then with a gasp, he collapsed on the floor.
The reporter was now seriously worried about his health: despite the fact that she was constantly annoyed by him, and the "battles" with Wayne, she found him funny and interesting, and even if she wouldn't admit it, she liked him.
The reporter squatted down, to check him out, and she exhaled a sigh of relive, seeing him breathing, even if roughly.
She touched his arm, shaking him, to wake him up, and he opened suddenly his eyes, grabbing her fiercely on her arm, and uttering "Oh no, not now!" shutting his eyes again.
Roxanne gasped, and after a while she checked his pulse: it was steady.
Then she touched his large forehead, and gasped loudly, because it was burning!
She then took a skin thermometer, and gasped again seeing his temperature: 104 grades.
She watched the phone, then outside, and then the alien, she took a decision, and so she dragged him into her bedroom.
There, she leaned him onto her bed, and she took off his cape, boots, socks (obviously black), gun and gloves, remaining spell-bound by his long blue fingers, and his slender feet with cute toes.
She placed those things on a chair, the boots under the chair, and his watch on the bedside table.
Then she took an ice bag, putting it on his large forehead, to cool him down, and covering his thin body with a warm blanket made of wool.
She put other water in the cooler, to have a good reserve to cool down the blue alien.
She sat on a chair, near the bed, watching him, frowning, and wondering why he collapsed like that.
From time to time, she changed the ice, and watched the sleeping alien.
She thought that he was so peaceful, like that, and she caressed gingerly his cheek.
The brunette jumped in her seat, when a voice came out from the watch, "Sir, you're alright? Answer me, please!"
It was Minion, so she took the device, pressing a blinking button, and spoke, "Minion? Did you hear me? Megamind is here at my apartment."
The ichthyoid sighed in relieve, and asked, with a worried tone, "Miss Ritchi, what happened? Why didn't he answer?"
Roxanne smiled at his apprehension, and answered, "I don't want to scare you, but he entered in my apartment, sneezed like mad, coughed and then collapsed onto my floor, then he said "Oh no, not now!" collapsing again. Now he's in my bed, I've used some ice on him, because he has a nasty fever. You know why he collapsed like that?" she asked, to know the situation.
Minion was appalled by her behavior, so he said, "It's his usual behavior when he's sick: he goes in some sort of coma, to recover. He's only resting, deeply. And it's ok to use ice on him, mind that his body temperature is slightly warmer than a human: it's around 98.6. May I ask you why you are healing him? I mean...you always could call Metro Man, to take him to prison, or something like that..." he asked, perplexed.
Roxanne smiled, and answered, "Thank you for the information, and I decided to not call Metro Man because there is an awful weather even for him. If he was sick, why he came here to kidnap me?" she asked, befuddled.
Minion sighed, and answered, "Because he is very stubborn. But it's strange...he took his medicines, and he went to you with protections. But maybe...wait a minute..." he said, and Roxanne could hear his metal footsteps.
Then, "Ah! I knew it! So busy preparing all for Christmas, to not taking the pills. Next time I'll give them to him myself, watching that he will took them. This is no good, he's really sick, and with this weather I couldn't come to you, or I will freeze up," Minion said with a worried tone, then he went silent, to think for a solution.
After a while, he sighed again, and said, "Miss Ritchi, I know that I'm asking something impossible, but can you cure him, until the weather is nicer, and I would come to pick him up, please?"
Roxanne smiled, half sweetly and half mischievously, answering, "No problem, Minion, I'll tell you a secret: you are always nice to me, so I like you, and I would do this favor to you. And also I want to see his face, when he would wake up..." she finished chuckling.
The ichthyoid was happy to hear that, and he chuckled as well, thinking about his Boss, waking up in Miss Ritchi's bed.
"I approve, since he didn't take his medicines, this is what he deserve. Please, continue to put the ice, and call me if something happens. Press the button you pressed to answer me, ok? And...thanks, when I would be able to come at your apartment, I would took a nice meal with me, to thank you properly, if it's ok with you, of course," Minion said merrily.
Roxanne blinked, and answered, "You cook? Now I'm curious, and so the answer is yes, and thanks. I would give you news, when something happen," she said, clicking another blinking button, to end the call.
Minion returned to do his chores in the Evil Lair, while Roxanne watched the sleeping alien, changing the ice, and checking his temperature.
When it reached 98.6 grades, she stopped with the ice, and he watched him, sleeping peacefully, with a faint smile on his lips.
She had a wicked idea, and took her SLR camera, snapping some pictures of him.
"I think that I will keep those for myself, but they are also good blackmail pictures...teheheh...he's not the only one who's evil, there," the reporter said, with some slyness in her voice.
From time to time, she checked his temperature, but he was stable, only sleeping.
She prepared the supper for her, looking if she had some dehydrated soups, to give to him when he would woke up.
Luckily she had many of these: with that weather, she made a good supply.
Then, after eating some light meal, she seated again on the chair, watching him, and taking his hand in hers.
She was somewhat amazed by her own behavior, but she knew that he won't know this, and so she felt free to externalize her sentiments toward him.
"Oh, Megamind, why are you a villain? I would be happy to be at your side. You are so witty and funny. I wonder why you are so obsessed with killing Wayne. I never had the occasion to discover that. Maybe...when you would wake up, I will ask you!" she said to herself, with a firm expression.
After a while, she felt tired, and she wanted to go to bed, but she was divided, since Megamind was also there, and she didn't want to sleep on the couch.
After some time, she decided to not to care and so she took her pajama, and slipped under the covers.
She was dreaming something nice, when she heard screaming and whining, coming from the blue sleeping form besides her.
"Mom, dad, no, don't leave me! I don't want to go!" he said, brows furrowed, almost crying.
Roxanne was taken aback, and she took his hand on pure instinct, whispering in a soothing manner, "Ssssh, calm down, you're safe, I'm here, and don't worry."
His breath was ragged, and the reporter didn't know if it was for the cold or for the bad dream.
Then he calmed down, his breath became even, and he had a peaceful expression on his always expressive face.
She wondered what happened in that dream, and she decided to ask him when he would wake up from that deep slumber.
Roxanne woke up in the morning, and noticed that Megamind was still asleep, but he was breathing more normally.
She got up, and she prepared some breakfast, then she got into the bathroom, to wash herself and get dressed.
She wore a simple white jersey shirt, and a pair of gray track pants.
"Merry Christmas, Megamind. I hope that you wake up soon, I have some questions for you," she said at the sleeping form, smiling.
Then she had an idea, and called Minion through the watch.
"Minion? Can you hear me?" she asked.
"Yes, I can hear you, Miss Ritchi. How are things going? I think that Sir had recovered a little, right? And by the way, Merry Christmas!" the henchfish asked with his usual chipper tone of voice.
Roxanne nodded, and said, chuckling, "Merry Christmas to you too, Minion!"
Then she told him, "Yes, now he's breathing regularly. It's amazing...I didn't knew that he could recuperate health like that. Only one thing...this night he had a bad dream, and he said "Mom, dad, no, don't leave me! I don't want to go!". I soothed him, but I was wondering if it was only a dream...or a memory, can you answer my question, Minion?"
The ichthyoid gasped, and after a while, he spoke, with a serious tone of voice, "It is a memory, Miss Ritchi. It's a recurring dream...or bad dream, as you have said. He lost his parents...and they saved us, sending me and Sir here, on Earth..."
Roxanne sensed that there was more, so she pushed more, asking, "Could you...could you tell me the whole story? I promise that I would not use it for some scoop," she said sincerely.
Minion sighed again, and it passed a long time before he started to tell her the whole story, the planet being dragged by that black hole-thingy, the cruise toward Earth, Wayne that pushed them away from the course, him landing in a luxurious house, and them in prison.
He wasn't able to stop there, so he told her about the years before school, Megamind growing in prison, with some misconception, but he was a good kid.
Then the school, where they met again that other alien, so perfect, so loved, and little Blue's decision to being the "baddest boy of them all".
"Oh my gosh! Promise me that you aren't going to tell this at the media...they would think that I have invented all, since they think that Wayne is so perfect..." the fish in the robotic suit said, panicking.
Roxanne was trying to hold the tears, but it was useless, she sobbed loudly and said, after crying loud for good five minutes, "Oh my goodness! Poor, poor thing! I knew that Wayne was, sometimes, an insensible guy, due to the fact that he was raised by the Scotts, but a bully? And if I was in Megamind's shoes, I would have done the same thing! This is so unfair...but we can change things! Now that I know the truth, I will do the right research, and I would let all the city know this story. Obviously if Megamind wants it, of course," she finished, thinking about the abused alien.
Minion was in a turmoil of emotions: one part of him was worried about his ward's reaction, and another part was jumping happily at the idea.
"Miss Ritchi, I'm sorry I made you cry, I didn't wanted to. That's a good idea, but you have to consult Sir, first...you know...he has a HUGE grudge against Wayne...but maybe if it's you asking...maybe he would accept the proposal," the ichthyoid said, knowing that Megamind had a huge crush on the reporter.
Roxanne whipped away some tears with a handkerchief, and smiled, "Don't worry, Minion, it's ok...and I hope that he would say yes," she said, and in that moment Megamind opened suddenly his eyes.