**EDIT as of 1/27/2013. With many thanks to Megan Martian who gave me a fantastic review; she also suggested a phenomenal idea that I shall use :)**

I feel like now is as good a time as any to say I don't own Megamind, so don't sue me! :)

Hope you all enjoy this one!

Aaaaannd…action!

"Sometimes, we don't actually need to say the words "I'm sorry" to convey our apology. Sometimes our actions are all that's really needed."- unknown

"A stiff apology is a second insult... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt. ~G.K. Chesterton"

Chapter 3

Roxanne awoke the next morning to the scent of coffee and the sounds of mixing coming from her kitchen. Slowly she rolled out of her bed and stretched before walking from her room. The sight that welcomed her was definitely not the one she had expected. When she had woken up she had half expected to come out of her bedroom and find that Minion had come back in the middle of the night. She had definitely not expected to see Megamind busily buzzing about her kitchen. She leaned against her door frame, smirking.

There had been numerous times when she had been "victim" to a kidnapping, only to be fed some delicious dish or another by Minion. The fish really did have a knack for cooking, and for slipping her secrets she wasn't supposed to know. She had always wondered if he was really evil at all, or merely just like Megamind and playing to a role that he was thrown into.

She continued to watch Megamind as he moved about, cleaning one dish with a simple flick of his gun while cooking whatever that deliciousness was on the stove top. Clearly, after spending so much time with the original Master Chef-Fish, he had picked up a few things.

Stepping from where she stood she walked over quietly, smiling all the while.

"Who'd have ever guessed that the incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy was also a chef?" She smiled to him flirtatiously, sitting at the breakfast bar.

"Ah-ha! You're up! Good morning! Coffee?" he placed a mug into her hands before she could answer. He continued to buzz around the kitchen, kissing her cheek before placing a steaming plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her. He quickly joined her, smiling at her with an expression she likened to that of a child on Christmas morning. Sensing just what it was he was excited about she took a bite of the breakfast, nodding her approval.

"This is really good; thanks. It's not often I get a real breakfast."

"Well it's nowhere near as good as Minion's ooom-lets, but they'll do."

After breakfast the pair had settled into laughing at more of Megamind's hilarious stories. It was true what she had said nights ago in the library; she had never known that he was so funny. As his laughter faded off his eyes gazed to the clock. The smile he wore faded away into a frown.

"That time already?"

"Did you have to go somewhere?" she asked.

"I was scheduled to fight Titan today… it was to be his big debut as a hero."

"What happened to not being the bad guy anymore?" she asked, her voice was not accusing, but was instead light and amused. She knew that he was still himself after all, and that he wasn't very likely to let go of the chance to make a production of something once more.

"Let's just say this one is less about being a bad guy, and more about a little pay back for coming at you." He looked to her, the hint of his smirk playing upon his lips.

Roxanne stood just outside the entrance to the Evil Lair, looking not at the graffiti covered wall, but to the man who stood beside her. He wore an expression of pain and anxiety.

The last time he had been here, Minion had walked out on him.

The last time he had been here, he had told his very best friend in the world that he didn't need him.

Roxanne reached out to take his hand and squeezed it.

"The longer you stand out here, the harder it's going to be to go inside." She said. She watched him as he sighed resolutely and followed him as he walked through the wall and inside.

They walked through the empty corridor, their footsteps echoing in the silence.

"It's strange, being here without him. It's so…empty." Megamind sighed, looking around his Lair. It was too quiet without his best friend bouncing around, cooking up some sort of treat, building something, or celebrating their latest adventure. "If only I knew where he is now." He gently released Roxanne's hand, walking ahead to look around the room. His shoulders slumped heavily, his voice thick with remorse. "He's my best friend, and I treated him like dirt. Seems like I treat everyone I care about like that." He turned to her once more, moving to cradle her cheek in the palm of his hand. "At least I have the chance to apologize to you…" his pained eyes looked into hers. In those glowing green orbs she could see all the pain and repentance he held, his good mood from earlier that morning having been chased far away by the struggle of being back in his home without his best friend. She placed her hand over his.

"And I said I could forgive. And Minion will too." The two shared a glance for a moment, stuck in their own silent conversation before Roxanne gently took his hand from her face, lacing her fingers through his.

He led her through the large red curtain and they were instantly surrounded by a group of brain bots. But for once Megamind was not enthralled in greeting his puppy-like cyborgs. No; his attention had been diverted elsewhere, and he walked ahead slowly, his eyes opened wide. He approached a case, inside of which was stored the most impressive cape Roxanne had seen in his collection to date. Megamind opened the doors, staring at the creation before him.

"The Black Mamba… but I don't understand. Minion hadn't finished it yet before he left…"

"Well I couldn't let you go into battle not properly dressed." They turned towards the voice, seeing its source emerge sheepishly from behind a door.

"Minion?"

Apprehensively the two friends approached one another. They were silent, and Roxanne observed as they each tried to come up with something to say.

"I wasn't sure you'd come back old friend…not after everything I-" Megamind stopped as Minion raised a hand to silence him. His face was stern.

"Honestly, I wasn't sure if I would come back. It seemed like you were perfectly fine without me." He paused a moment, crossing his arms and locking gazes with the blue alien before him. "But really, Ms. Ritchie is the one to thank in all of this."

Megamind turned, looking to the woman who stood behind them.

"You?..."

"She pleaded your case. You could be a lawyer Ms. Ritchie." The fish looked in her direction for a moment, sharing a smile with her.

"What? When? How?" Megamind looked to her, his eyes wide.

She smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

"You know you're a very sound sleeper."

He returned her smile and rushed to her before he hugged her tightly.

"Thank you." He whispered. Her arms wrapped around him to return the hug, and she had to suppress a shiver as his breath tickled her ear. Slowly, and almost regretfully, he released his hold on her, and walked up to his best friend, who was frozen in a state of shock at the scene that had played out before him. He'd made his assumptions about how it was the Roxanne had come to call him through the watch, but this was more than he expected. Megamind looked to Minion, his face sinking back into remorse.

"Oh Minion…I was a fool. And I was… w-wrong. You're the best friend I've got. I'm sorry." He looked to Minion, and the fish held his stern look still. For a moment Megamind was afraid that he was unforgiven, and the fear had to be clear in his eyes because Minion finally broke into a smile.

"Apology accepted." Minion raised a hand, clasping Megamind's shoulder. "I forgave you almost as soon as Ms. Ritchie had called for me. When I heard her pleading your case, begging me to forgive you and not let a little fight ruin our friendship well…I knew that you had done the right thing. That right there was better than any apology."

"Minion…you fantastic fish you."

The two friends smiled broadly to one another, and in a moment that more than likely would never have happened anywhere other than in the walls of their Lair, the two best friends hugged tightly.

"All right all right, the Lifetime Movie is over now." Roxanne teased after having given them their moment. "Don't we have to get you suited up for this show-down?"

"How'd you know I'd need suiting up?" He looked to her, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you're you, aren't you?"

A large spiked robot made its way down the city streets, sending citizens scurrying away into buildings.

"I hear there's someone here who wishes to challenge me!" the voice called out as the behemoth leaped onto the city hall roof with the help of rockets. Megamind danced about the roof, clearly enjoying the ability to once more impress and awe the public eye.

But Megamind soon found himself waiting.

There was no cheering of relief from the crowd at the sight of a hero blasting through the sky. In fact; as he looked around, he found that there was no crowd at all. After merely an hour they had dispersed, going back to their lives. A few had stayed, standing further away and anxiously waiting for something to happen. But as the hours passed they continued to leave until there was no one watching at all. In fact people had begun going about their daily lives, passing the robot by as they went.

But being the stubborn creature that he was, the blue villain sat there, and waited.

And waited.

And waited…

"Oh this is ridiculous! I've never been so insulted in my life!" he rose to his large robot feet and stomped off in the direction of Hal's apartment, frustrated and insulted at having lost the chance to once more have the hero-vs-villain banter he so missed. He was also, if he were quite honest with himself, peeved at the fact that he was not able to throw a few of his own swings at the "hero" for having come after Roxanne.

"Of all the boneheaded…rude…unprofessional!"

Coming upon the building he punched a large hole into the wall and walked out from the head of the robot and down the arm into Hal's apartment. The red-haired man sat reclined on his couch, immersed in a video game.

"Hello? Did you forget you have an appointment? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?" Megamind inquired.

"Oh! Hey there Megamind!" Hal greeted the man as if they were old friends. "Thanks for stopping by. Also there's a door here…so ya know..." He looked back to his video game, thumbs moving rapidly.

"What are you doing?" Megamind stepped in front of him, blocking Hal's view of the television. "You're supposed to be out there…debuting as a hero."

"Yea yea…sure thing…no problem man. Just let me finish this level…" Hal leaned around Megamind to see the screen.

"Oh I don't believe this! You're-"Megamind stopped as something caught the corner of his eye. He turned; where the was once mess and clutter, now stood not dirty clothes, but piles of money, an ATM, and what looked like some very expensive electronic equipment.

"Where did you get all of this stuff?"

"I'll let you in on a little secret… it's not mine." Hal chortled in his ear. Megamind spun around and looked at him in disbelief.

"You stole it!"

"Well duh. It didn't walk in here on its own. Totally cool right?"

"No no no! It is not cool! You're supposed to be a hero! You're not supposed to be a thief. You're supposed to be the one bringing me to justice." Megamind felt his blood begin to boil.

"Yea yea sure…whatever with that plan. I was thinking something a little more exciting. With all my awesomeness and your…brain-y-ness… we could totally be the baddest team ever! Which is why we should totally team up!"

"You want to team up?" Megamind spat the words out.

"Well yea…imagine for a moment, my man, all the awesome things we could do!" Hal moved to sling what he apparently thought was a companionable arm around Megamind's shoulders but the blue man quickly threw it off, turning back to face Hal.

"This is not how this works. I'm the villain, you're the hero. I make the messes and you come and get me! Be a hero!" he was furious. Had Hal learned nothing?

"Being a hero is for losers! I only did it to get the girl, but that plan was a total bust. As it turns out, she doesn't want a hero. She was making googly eyes at some skinny intellectual dweeb! So I'm trashing that plan. Which is totally why I think we should team up! We could totally rule this city! It'd be rocking!" Hal smiled broadly, clearly both excited at and pleased with his plan.

Megamind stared at the towering man before him, confused as to how Hal could go from wanting the girl to thinking it was a perfectly "cool" idea to rob and rule the city.

"NO! No no no! It would not be "rocking". Did you learn nothing? All your powers…your abilities… and you would use them for your own personal gain! That is not how this works! This is not why I created you!" Megamind had snapped. All that work, all that planning, and for what?

Not for this, that's for sure!

"Hah right…you're nuts. Space Dad told me-"

"Oh, you idiot! I'm your Space Dad!" with a flick of the watch Megamind turned into Space Dad right before Hal's eyes.

"Titan…I am your father." Said the short white-haired man before him. Another turn of the watch and Megamind stood before Hal once more.

"You tricked me?" Hal advanced a step towards Megamind.

"Oh-ho… don't like that do you? Then you'll really like this." Megamind smirked. This was now more than just a battle between hero and villain…this was payback. For now Hal needn't know the real truth between Roxanne and Megamind; especially not since he had gone after her once already… but Hal could know who Bernard really was.

Another turn of the watch.

"I'm also the intellectual dweeb that's currently dating Roxanne Ritchie. We had dinner just last night. And we were kissing up a storm!"

Hal wore a look of mixed hurt and disbelief.

"No…"

A last turn of the watch and Megamind was back to himself. He backed across the room, climbing once more onto the arm of his robot suit.

"Oh yes! I'll just leave you to mull that over…" he turned, hopping into the suit before closing the lid back down.

"When I get my hands on you I'm gonna-"Hal could no longer find words for anger and charged off after Megamind, slamming into the glass of the suit's head. Megamind stood up, laughing all the while, and backhanded Hal away. The white-clad man was buried into the street, but quickly dug his way out, blasting off after Megamind once more. The two continued to throw hits, but it was not long before Megamind noticed something strangely off about Hal. As Hal flew back from another hit Megamind took a quick corner, hiding behind a wall for a moment.

"Let's see what that big brain looks like when it's splattered across the pavement!" Hal yelled.

This was not the normal back and forth battle of good-vs.-evil that Megamind was so used to. This, in fact, was turning into a fight for blood. Hal's eyes were crazed as he came around the corner and swung a rough hit at Megamind.

"That's for stealing my girlfriend!"

"Hah! As if she would ever be your girlfriend!" Megamind retorted. He had only just gained his feet when Hal swooped down once more. He tossed him up, flying into the sky with him before forcing him down into the top of a building.

"This is for making a fool out of me!" Finally, with one last strong hit Hal broke through the glass, dragging Megamind out by his collar. He tossed the blue man with great force, sending him flying into the brick wall of a building. The back of his giant head hit the wall and he saw stars.

"And that's for Space Step-Mom! You lied to her!"

"Oh she knew already. She was in on it. We were all in on it! Now…if you want to get back to the game-"

"Game… over." Hals voice was low and threatening. His eyes glowed a deadly red as he advanced on Megamind.

"Woah now... no no no. This isn't how you play. You're supposed to be bringing me in to jail."

"Oh I'll be bringing you in somewhere alright…to the morgue. In a matchbox!"

"OH no…no no. Brain bots!" In a manner of seconds a group of brain bots surrounded Megamind, carrying him away just as Hal's ray vision shot into the spot his head had been occupying. Seeing his enemy being carried away Hal growled out in frustration, taking off after them, giving no care to where he flew or what he flew into. Following Megamind into a tunnel he slammed into a gas tanker, sending it flying onto its side. The truck exploded into flames, hitting a set of parked cars nearby. The force of the explosion sent Megamind toppling into the street and the brain bots were unable to hold on in the force of it all. Dizzily Megamind raised his head, his vision slowly coming back into focus.

Hal stalked after him with murder in his eyes.

"Brain bots! Fail safe!" Megamind shouted into his watch. From above a large ball was dropped onto Hal, trapping him inside it. Megamind stood, laughing out loud.

"Good luck getting out of there! It's pure copper! The very same material I used to defeat-"

He was cut short as a hand punched through the copper wall and missed his face by mere inches. Hal tore through the metal, climbing out.

"-Metro Mahn?"

"Clearly, Metro Man was weaker than me. He never did defeat you. But me? I'm gonna kill you dead."

With a toss Hal sent the ball after Megamind. The blue man only just barely made it down the subway stairs as it crashed into the brick wall. Hal stayed aloft, glaring after him. He stayed for but a moment to give his declaration of new ruler of the city before taking to the skies once more.

Roxanne stepped into her apartment, struggling with the armful of bags she carried. She closed the door and turned to her apartment, and dropped her bags to the floor. Her apartment was in total disarray. Drawers were torn open, papers and shattered dishes were scattered across the floor. The few picture frames that she had hanging had been smashed, their pictures burned and torn. Her couch bore scorch marks, as did the walls and floor. And then she turned, seeing the scorch marks along the wall.

Tighten

She stood absolutely still, hardly daring to breathe. It was silent, but that did nothing to ease her fears. She slowly backed for the door, reaching out behind her to open it. Her back collided with something solid and a scream tore from her throat. A pair of hands came to her arms and spun her around. She found herself face to face with Megamind and she let out a breath of relief before clinging to him tightly. In her embrace he could feel that every one of her muscles was tense and she was shaking like a leaf.

"Roxanne? What happened? What's wrong?" he asked. He felt her arms tighten around him and she shook her head. He ran a hand up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her before she finally released him and hesitantly turned for her door and opened it. Megamind's eyes went wide in shock at the sight before him.

"Hal must have broken in while I was getting groceries. He trashed the whole place." she said. Megamind stepped into the main room; he held his hand ready over the de-gun in its holster, his eyes tight with anger and concentration as he looked around. Glass crunched under his feet as he walked and took in the amount of damage that had been done. Hal had to have been quick and he had been here recently, clearly after their battle had ended. If Roxanne had walked through her door moments earlier than she had...he shuddered at the thought.

"Pack a bag. You're not staying here tonight. If he's been here once, he'll come back again."

Roxanne nodded and hurried to her room, determined to get out of the apartment as quickly as possible. Her room had been torn apart as well; clothes were strewn across the room and her bed was sliced down the middle, the stuffing still settling. Her hands shook as she shoved the first things she could grab into a large duffel bag. She nearly dropped a handful of toiletries and Megamind stepped in next to her, helping shove the loose bottles into the bag. He turned to the closet and grabbed an armful of her clothes and dropped them on top of the bag. With a quick flash of his gun they had been reduced to a small blue cube and he threw them in just in time for her to throw another pile of clothes inside. Her shaking hands struggled with the zipper and he knelt down next to her, closing the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He took her hand in his and quickly led her from her apartment and to the waiting Hudson on the street.

When the pair had arrived to the car he was curious enough as to why they had a duffel bag, but it was Miss Ritchi's pale complexion that worried him the most. Megamind had explained through clenched jaw that Hal had broken in and destroyed her home. The little fish stomped down onto the gas pedal and sped for the Lair, intent on getting both of his wards somewhere safe. Megamind had sat in the back seat with Roxanne with his arm wrapped around her tightly, gently running his hand up and down her arm in comfort. When they had arrived at the Lair Roxanne was only just barely relaxing. Minion, in all of his concern, pressed a mug of hot tea into her hands and led her to a plush chair to sit in. Slowly she began to relax, the tea's soothing effects working wonders on her nerves. She gave Minion a grateful smile as he refilled her mug a second time. As she calmed she became aware of the bruising lump on the back of Megamind's head. In the rush of adrenaline he had almost forgotten the pain himself, until she had mentioned it. His hand went back to brush it and he hissed in pain.

"That's going to need ice." Minion said as he looked to the bump. He quickly returned with a bag of ice wrapped in a cloth. "Now let's get you sitting down too Sir, and you can tell us what happened." he rolled up Megamind's favorite black executive chair and the alien slowly lowered into it.

"Ow…ow owowow" Megamind winced. He exhaled in pain before lifting his hand to hold the ice onto his head. After a short moment he felt a warm hand cover his own. Roxanne smiled tenderly to him and he let his hand fall away, smiling to her gratefully as she held the ice to his head.

"What happened out there?"

"Hal has turned evil! He's completely out of control. He actually expected me to team up with him." Megamind spat the words angrily.

"Well if he wanted to team up with you that really wouldn't give him a reason to fight with you." Roxanne stated, curious to know just what else had transpired.

"Weeeelll…I may or may not have goaded him on about… you."

"You what?" Roxanne snorted back laughter.

"Well, he tried claiming you and I just couldn't have that. So I told him all about how I was Bernard."

"Sir… do you think that's a good idea? I mean… he's already been to Ms. Ritchie's apartment twice now. What if he comes after her in a means of getting at you?"

"He only thinks Roxanne knows me as Bernard, he has no idea at all that I told her who I really am." He smiled, clearly still proud at himself for having insulted the evil-hero as he had.

Rehashing the rest of the story however, brought his mood back down.

"I can't even imagine the amount of money he stole. And the copper… why didn't the copper work?" He slumped forward, looking off at the idea cloud that he and Minion had made during their original planning. "It worked before… so what makes Hal so different?"

"Uhm Sir… is it possible that maybe something went wrong? With the transfer I mean?" Minion asked timidly, clearly not wanting to insinuate that it had been an error on Megamind's part.

"I've thought it over a hundred times Minion…and right now anything is possible. I would need to be able to get an actual reading on the DNA though. What we have to figure out now is how to beat him." He turned his gaze to Roxanne. "I'm going to need your help."

"What do you need my help for? I'm not the super genius." She said playfully.

"Because you're the smartest person I know." He said honestly, locking his eyes with hers. She smiled sweetly to him, nodding.

"Of course I'll help."

"We'll need to find clues… anything that can help us beat him. You knew Metro Man best. Did he have a lair? A hide out? Anything that could help us?" he asked.

"I know where to go."

Megamind stood; clearly ready to set off when Minion stopped him.

"AH! Sir… you're not going anywhere tonight." He said firmly.

"But Minion!"

"Not in this condition. You are going to stay home and sleep."

"He's right. Hal won't be doing anything tonight. If I know anything about that lazy lump he's either lost in a video game or fast asleep. We can go tomorrow." Roxanne said, hoping that with both her and Minion on the same side that Megamind would rescind and get some rest.

Megamind looked between the two of them, knowing full well that he would not be allowed to budge for the night.

Minion soon after excused himself for the night, after being assured by Roxanne that his friend would be staying in for the night and not attempting to go about investigating.

The two sat close together; the bag of ice had since melted and she had instead tangled her hand with his.

"You know you should probably get some rest."

"I could say the same to you." He smirked at her.

"Well I need a place to sleep."

"Well yes, I do believe those things are called beds. I happen to have an excellent bed." He answered back rather cheekily, smiling all the while. His voice was low and she felt her stomach flip at the sultry tone that it held. She shook her head to snap out of it, chuckling.

"Oh no, I'm not taking your bed from you. You need your rest more than I need mine."

He looked to her, cocking a single eyebrow and smirking in that way he had so many times before when he had kidnapped her. She had labeled it as his smolder, since he only ever seemed to do it when trying to seduce or persuade her.

"And when, Ms. Ritchie, did I ever say it would be you alone in my bed?" he watched as she blushed a deep crimson.

"I-I don…"

"It would be just to sleep Roxanne." He leaned his face close to hers, their foreheads touching. As she looked into his eyes she knew he was being completely genuine. She slowly nodded in consent, eliciting a smile from Megamind.

"Right this way my dear." He slowly stood, his aching muscles protesting. He helped her to her feet and led her down the hall. His room was more than she had expected. The large bed in the middle was adorned with a shining black frame; the black bedspread held his trademark insignia. Matching end tables held lamps and a strange looking alarm clock. She wasn't surprised at all to see a wall of blinky lights, but it was the light blue carpet that did surprise her. Some part of her had expected a matching black carpet. But once her toes sunk into it she couldn't have cared less if it had been bright orange.

When the pair finally lay down for the night, Roxanne had never felt safer as her blue beau wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. For a moment he worried that she would reject his affection, and he'd already fought back his nerves to hold her like this as it was. But he felt the need to hold her close; to protect her and show her that she was indeed safe with him. She was glad he had demanded she leave her apartment. If he hadn't, well…she certainly wouldn't be experiencing this moment of bliss right now. She thought back to just barely two days ago; how she felt so heart-broken and angry with him, and with how he had lied. It was strange how the love that had been growing had never actually gone away. Even in that instant when he had been revealed from his disguise, she never felt those feelings actually stop. They were still there, which had only led to her being so hurt. And after all had been said and done, those feelings remained, and continued to grow, for she knew it truly had been him she had been falling for all along. She scooted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder as she draped an arm across his chest.

Oh yes...this was definitely something that she could get used to.

Phew! What'd I tell ya, long chapter! Sorry if it's too long and you all hated it (I sure hope you didn't though!) Like I said, there was just really not a good spot I could cut it at.

Stay tuned for the next chapter! I will try to get it out within the week but I do have other stories I have been neglecting and midterms are coming up for me!

So stay with me friends and leave me lots of love and reviews :)