REDEMPTION

AUTHOR NOTE: Thanks to nineteenninetytwo for beta reading this chapter, and giving advice. Also, thanks to all past reviewers of the story arc, especially the most recent chapters.

Chapter 3. Metro Man Interlude

Metro Man was sulking in his underground hideaway. He told himself he ought to be happy. Megamind hadn't been seen or heard from in almost seven months. The city was relatively quiet and calm. There wasn't much for him to do. He apprehended the odd criminal in the act, assisted the random citizen in trouble, but it just wasn't the same without Megamind to fight against. And he missed rescuing Roxanne Ritchie. He had stopped asking her out, because she always said no, but rescuing her gave him the illusion of closeness with her. He kept hoping that after one of the rescues, she would give him a look to indicate she had changed her mind about him.

It was weird, he thought, some of the times when he had come to save her, he would swear Roxanne was irritated by his arrival. It was as though she was enjoying her time with Megamind, and he was breaking up the party early. He just didn't understand her. And Megamind- there was another puzzle. What was up with him? Sure, there had been times when Megamind had laid low for an extended time. Generally it meant he was building some really big ingeniously evil device. But Metro Man couldn't remember the last time Megamind had been out of sight for over a month or two. Was there something wrong with him? Was he ill? Had he injured himself in some mad experiment gone wrong? Metro Man's thoughts veered from being worried about the blue-skinned alien's welfare to being irritated at him for vanishing without telling him what was going on.

Before Megamind's disappearance, Metro Man had actually been having a kind of midlife crisis. Quite frankly, he was getting a little bored with the Hero gig: Battle Megamind, and put him in prison. Villain breaks out, fight him again, and return him to prison. Throw in the occasional petty criminal who the police could really manage themselves. Do it again. Been there, done that. Metro Man had been thinking that, after all this time saving people, saving the city, didn't he deserve time for himself, time to pursue his own dreams? But how could he justify abandoning his position when Megamind was around, intermittently threatening the city?

But now it had been over half a year, with not even a peep from Megamind. If he could just be sure that Megamind was really gone, Metro Man could retire with a clear conscience, and pursue his true passion: Music. Admittedly, Megamind's absence had allowed him more time to work on his music, writing songs and practicing. But he wanted to be able to devote all his time to his Art. And he was sure that people wouldn't accept him as a musician if they still saw him primarily as a Hero.

Then it came to him. He would try to track down Megamind, discover what had happened to him, and get the proof he needed to retire.

Roxanne was walking back to the station, after taking a late lunch. She was enjoying the beautiful weather and looking forward to the evening visit from Megamind. He had promised that he would give her a first lesson in driving the hoverbike. He was currently building a second one for her.

Suddenly, a blur of white descended in front of her. She stepped back in surprise. "Metro Man! What are you doing here?"

"Roxie, I must speak with you."

"You know I hate it when you call me that."

"Sorry, Roxanne. But, as I said, I must speak with you. I need your help."

"I'm kind of in a hurry. Got a lot of work waiting for me back at the station. Can't we do this some other time?" She tried to step around him and continue on her way. But he continued alongside her.

"Roxanne, this is important. It's about Megamind."

Roxanne felt her heart start to beat faster. She began to panic, as the thought came to her, He knows. But then she mentally shook herself. They had been very careful. No one knew. Her girlfriends had stopped pushing her for information when she made it clear she wouldn't share anything more about the identity of her secret boyfriend. She knew they suspected she was dating a famous scientist or entrepreneur, (Julia's guess), or a movie star or politician, maybe a married man (Tina's idea).

"Megamind? There's been no sight or sound of him in, what, about six or seven months? I just assumed that he skipped town. Maybe he finally realized that he could never defeat you and moved on to other... interests."

"You might be correct, but I really need to know what happened to him."

"Why? What difference does it make?"

Metro Man looked uncomfortable. "I... can't really explain that now. But I would like your help."

Roxanne tried to pick up her pace. "I don't know how I can possibly help you."

"As near as I can tell, you were the last one to see Megamind."

Uh-oh, Roxanne thought to herself. I'm afraid I know where this is going. But she turned to Metro Man with a quizzical look on her face, and innocently said, "I can't imagine why you would think that."

"Roxanne, that broadcast; I know it was short, only about 30 seconds, but it sure sounded like your voice talking to Megamind, who was shown tied up in a chair."

"Yes, and a lot of people said it must've been a fake. The image quality wasn't all that good, and the face of the supposed Megamind character was partially obscured."

"Roxanne, you would know whether that was your voice, whether the recording was a fake or not, right?"

"Of course. And I'm telling you right now, it was a fake. And even if it was real, what difference would it make?"

"Because, if it was real, and if it had occurred inside his latest Lair, then you would know where he was, at least at that time. I could go there and look for clues."

"Clues? What kind of kind of clues are you looking for?"

"I'm trying to track him down."

"To take him back to prison, to serve his 85 life sentences." She said it as a statement, not a question. Her heart was sinking.

"Prison? No, I don't care about that." Roxanne stared at him.

"Then what do you want?"

"Roxanne," Metro Man lowered his voice. "Promise me you'll keep this secret. I can trust you, right?"

"Of course," Roxanne lied.

"I want to retire. I'm tired of the Hero gig. But it wouldn't feel right unless I knew for sure that Megamind was not going to be a threat to the city anymore. That's why I have to track him down."

Roxanne's heart was starting to race again. This could be good, or this could be very, very bad. "I would like to help you, but at this moment I can't think of how. But if I come up with something…"

"You know how to reach me." And he flew away.

Roxanne hurriedly began texting. "CHANGE OF PLANS. THERE'S A PROBLEM, MAYBE AN OPPORTUNITY. WE NEED TO TALK. WILL TRY TO GET OUT OF WORK EARLY. WILL SEND TIME TO COME TO APT. R"

Megamind showed up as directed in one of his regular disguises for coming to the apartment, an elderly gentleman who didn't look like dating material. He never tried to explain to Carlos, the doorman, what his character's relationship to Roxanne was, but the prepared story, if it came up, was that he was one of her favorite college professors. Megamind was a little worried because of the urgent tone of the text, but told himself it couldn't be too bad or Roxanne would have faked an illness to get out of work. They always tried to be very careful about what information they put in text messages, just in case. Among his many projects, Megamind was working on a way to make their phones completely secure. As soon as the door to her apartment was closed behind him, he dropped the disguise. "What is it?" he said with no preliminaries.

She kissed him and gestured him toward the couch. Quickly she reviewed her conversation with Metro Man. She asked, "So, what do you think? Will he be able to track you down?"

"He's not a genius like I am, but he's not a complete idiot. In the past, he's never had to look for me because I always did something to bring him to me. I either told him where to find me, or gave such obvious clues he could easily figure it out. When it comes to physically searching, his strengths are his super speed, vision and hearing. The Lair has generally been located in similar types of locations: abandoned factory buildings, warehouses, places with space for my projects and few neighbors to notice my comings and goings, or the odd noises. There are only so many of those in the city. It probably wouldn't take too long for him to search through all the options. I could relocate fairly quickly if we focused on moving just the most important equipment, within minutes if I abandon everything. I can beef up the perimeter security so that at least I would know if he gets close, and set up a few safe houses to evacuate to if he locates me."

"You already have one of those," Roxanne assured him. When he looked at her quizzically, she said," My place, silly. He would never expect you to be here."

"Unless he suspects me of coming to kidnap you."

"Oh, no; I never considered that."

"I could leave the city."

"I would hate that, but it you think you need to…"

"But hiding is not our only option. He did say he's not interested in me going back to prison so much as his opportunity to retire. Unless you think it's a trap?"

"I don't... think so. I believe he genuinely trusts me, and wouldn't have lied to me. Maybe the real issue is whether he would believe that you actually have reformed and were no longer a threat to the city or to anyone."

"And whether he would turn out to be a stickler for the letter of the law, and would insist that I go back to prison for life, no matter what. I don't consider that an option."

"I could go meet with him, try to feel him out about that." Roxanne looked at his face, which had become stony. "What? You're not having some kind of ridiculous doubts about-"

"No, I trust you completely. Old rivalries die hard; it's him I don't trust. Do me a favor: let me send some spybots with you."

"Why?"

"Insurance. And also, what is it the reporter in you is always saying? To get more information."

She stopped by the Lair before heading to the interview with Metro Man, to pick up the surveillance equipment she had agreed to take. Once she acceded to a couple of spybots, Megamind kept pressing her to accept more devices. She told herself it was similar to when she was doing her investigative reporting. It's not like her intention was any kind of criminal act, or to hurt anyone. And it reassured Megamind to have real-time access to what was happening during her conversation with Metro Man. In addition to the six tiny insectlike spybots that would disperse from her clothing when she was actually inside and in Metro Man presence, she would wear what looked like a dragonfly brooch on her suit coat lapel. Several more spybots would be flying around the late model sedan when she parked outside the schoolhouse, "just in case." Megamind also offered her a beautiful sapphire necklace. "I was going to give this to you on our four month anniversary, but I want you have it now."

"It's lovely, but what's your reason for giving it to me early?"

"It's not just a necklace. I added a tracking device to it, so when you're wearing it, I can always locate you."

"What in the world do you think could happen that would necessitate that?"

"I can't explain it; I know it makes no sense. When I think of you being near him, it makes me nervous. Just do it for me, please."

"But why?"

"I don't know why," he cried. He buried his face in his hands. She was perplexed, but he clearly was so upset, she was considering doing it, just to make him feel better."

Suddenly he raised his head. "Oh," he said, with realization dawning on his face.

"What?"

"I think I just figured it out." He paused.

"Are you going to tell me?"

His cheeks and ears were starting to flush lavender. "I know this is ridiculous….but, Metro Man always took you away from me." He hurried to reassure her, "I know you would never leave me voluntarily, but I think a part of me worries Metro Man might abduct you, to keep you from me. I know it sounds crazy, coming from your former kidnapper."

"I'll wear the necklace."

Softly, "Thank you."

"Just one question. Did you install the tracker before or after the meeting with Metro Man was decided on?

"After. Why?"

"Because if you had done it before, that would have been decidedly creepy."

"I'll show you how to disable it, or take it off if you like, afterwards."

"Thank you."

But she absolutely refused to wear an earpiece that would allow Megamind to speak to her. "I will not have you distracting me with your ideas and suggestions. No," and she held her finger in his face as he opened his mouth to speak. "You have got to trust my skills as an interviewer. I'm sure I can do this." So he backed down.

Roxanne had not been here in years. The old schoolhouse was located far on the outskirts of the city. It made her a little twitchy, knowing how much surveillance equipment she was bringing into Metro Man's hideaway. As she opened the door leading to the secret passage, the one that led into the underground hideaway, she marveled at the fact that it wasn't locked. But then, maybe Metro Man had no fear of anyone coming to see him, so there was no need. Or maybe she was triggering perimeter alarms that would let him know he had company. When she got to the door immediately outside the actual living quarters, she paused.

Before she could decide whether to knock or just open the door, it was opened for her. "Roxie," Metro Man exclaimed, a smile on his face. Looking at her disgruntled expression, he corrected himself. "Roxanne. You came."

Roxanne was glad he made no effort to touch her. She didn't know what she would have done, or how Megamind would have reacted. She knew he was observing every second from his monitors in the Lair. "Yes, well, I've been thinking about what you said. I'm still not sure how I might be helpful, but I thought that if I talked to you more about your plans, I might be able to come up with some ideas." He invited her to sit on the couch, offered her a drink ("Just water, please."), and Metro Man began by reiterating what he told her before.

Roxanne inquired, "So what is your plan for locating him?"

"Systematically check all the possible locations for the Evil Lair. You know the type of place he usually uses: abandoned warehouses and factories, in rundown areas with few people. If none of those work out, I'll have to consider that maybe he's gone to ground in a smaller place. If he's anywhere in the city, he has to be in hiding. With his distinctive appearance, everyone would know who he was if he was out in public. No change of costume can hide that big blue head."

"But I still don't quite understand what you would do if you would find Megamind."

"I'm not sure. Initially, I just want to talk to him, get a sense of whether he's just laying low with the intention of a big comeback, or if, like me, he's tired of the whole routine and wants to retire from it. I don't have a lot of hope for that idea, but you never know. Also, I have wondered whether or not he's dead, if he's killed himself somehow."

"Why would you think he would commit suicide?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean that. I meant maybe one of his mad experiments went wrong and he blew himself up, or got crushed under one of those giant robots of his. Something like that. It's funny, when the thought came to me, it actually made me... kind of sad. I know we've been rivals for a long time. But I don't really want him to be dead."

"And what if he's alive, and he wants to retire like you? What then? Would you insist that he has to go back to prison?"

"I probably should, as an enforcer of the law, and all that. But really, I would be afraid that that would just start the pattern all over again. He would break out, and then I would be expected to go get him to put him back. If I could just be sure that he really wouldn't do anything else in the future to terrorize the city, or engage in any other criminal behavior, I would be content to, I don't know, let him get on with his life."

"I think you have a point, but why would you do that, besides the fact that it would be good for you and your retirement?"

"You know, most people don't think about this, but Megamind and I are both aliens. We're both from another solar system. Because of the way I look, most people seem to forget about that. But with Megamind, it's so obvious. It's like he's had three strikes against him from the moment he arrived here. Despite everything he's done, I feel sorry for the guy. And in some ways I feel sort of responsible…. well, anyway, it was a long time ago….never mind."

"What did you do?" Roxanne asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes.

Metro Man looked very uncomfortable as he glanced down at his hands. In fact, Roxanne thought he looked embarrassed, maybe ashamed. "You have to understand, Roxanne, I was just a kid. My adoptive parents were concerned about me having a good educational experience. They didn't want to send me to a public school, and they weren't satisfied with any of the private schools available. So my mother had the idea that they would establish a small school for gifted children, where they could completely control the teacher, the curriculum, and even the students who would be enrolled.

"My father was willing to go along with the idea, but he wanted to minimize the cost as much as he could. So they built the school on the cheapest piece of property they could acquire, which turned out to be right down the road from the city prison. My parents wanted me to have the opportunity to socialize with other children, but they wanted them to be special children, gifted children, since I was their 'special' child. Of course, the teacher knew that I was the son of the people who owned the school, so that might have contributed to her kind of sucking up to me. But I have had other people tell me that I was a charming child." Roxanne looked at him with a certain amount of skepticism in her eye. Metro Man hurried on with the story.

"Between my naturally charismatic personality and my superpowers, the other kids looked up to me. I was a leader, the most popular kid in the school. Then one day this new kid from the local prison starts attending school. I remember thinking at the time that I didn't understand how a kid from prison would be allowed into our school. When I was older, I thought maybe it was done as good PR for the school. He had blue skin, and a really big head; well, you know who it was."

"It was clear from the beginning that he was very smart. He knew a lot of things about science and math that none of the rest of us knew. In fact, I think he got on the teacher's bad side because the very first day he started correcting some of the things that she was teaching in those areas. Of course, at the time, I just figured the teacher was right because she was the teacher, and the new kid was being a brat. But now I think the teacher was embarrassed because Megamind was probably right. Of course he wasn't called that back then. "

"What was he called?"

"We called him Blue Boy, sometimes Blueberry, but I think his name was Blue."

"That was his name?"

Metro Man shrugged. "I think so; that's what I remember, anyway. But anyways, some of the kids were afraid of him because, clearly, he was an alien. I think the teacher was afraid of him too, because she always seemed uncomfortable around him, and stayed as far away from him as she could. Some of the kids, though, actually seemed interested in him because he was different." Then Metro Man paused, and looked down again. Roxanne waited.

"This is the part that bothers me, the part I really regret. There was this girl in the class; I don't even remember her name anymore, Susie, or Sarah or Sally. I guess I had a little crush on her. Well, she actually was one of the ones who seemed really interested in the new kid. She was really good in math and science too, so maybe that's what she liked about him, or maybe she was intrigued because he was so different. Anyways, it bothered me that once Blue came around, I couldn't seem to get her attention anymore. So, ahh, I did what I could to turned everyone against him, so that maybe I could get the girl's attention back on me."

Roxanne was so angry: she wanted to hit him; she wanted to scream at him. But she made herself remain calm, to act only interested in the story. They still hadn't figured out yet how to use Metro Man to Megamind's benefit. That was the most important thing. Roxanne asked, "So is there more?"

"It seemed like after that, Blue just kept getting in more and more trouble. Near the end, it was like he was doing things on purpose, like he was reveling in being called the bad kid. I still wonder if maybe it's partially my fault that he turned out the way he did."

Roxanne cautiously offered, "So, if it's at least partly your fault that he became a villain, does that mean that you think you might owe it to him to help him, if he wanted to stop being a villain?"

"Maybe. I guess so. Sure."

"And how do you think you might do that?"

"I have no idea. I guess I need to think about that. Of course, this is all speculation. None of us have any idea what Megamind really wants now. If he's even alive. I'm actually leaning toward the idea that he's gone to another country, maybe a different continent, to get a fresh start."

Roxanne put a contemplative expression on her face. "Hmmm. While I think it's possible that he's either dead, or injured, I think it's more likely, that he's not. He's made a lot of dangerous inventions before, apparently without hurting himself before. He probably is cautious enough during the inventing and construction phase.

"I've been thinking about this issue, since you brought it up to me. I've been trying to remember anything that Megamind might've said during the last few times I saw him. And when I think about it, I do seem to recall him saying some things that suggested that he was tired of the whole criminal mastermind rivalry with Metro Man thing. I think it's more likely that he really just wants to make a change; that he hasn't done anything to get your attention because he doesn't want to do it anymore."

When it became apparent that Metro Man was done with talking and speculating, and Roxanne could think of nothing else to say to nudge him in the direction they wanted, she decided it was time to make her exit. She got up, saying, "So what do you think your next move will be?"

"I plan to do a systematic search of all the likely locations in the city, and then I'll move on to a systematic search of all the unlikely locations. After that, I don't know, maybe I'll post a message in the personal column: "Superhero wants to contact former rival to make amends." Or I'll take out an ad: "Big reward for information leading to contact with Megamind." Maybe he'll turn himself in just for the money." Roxanne couldn't help herself; she laughed. She was imagining teasing Megamind that she could turn him in for the money.

"Well, I'd better be going. If I think of anything else that might be helpful, I'll get back in touch. And if you want to talk further about this, feel free to contact me."

"Thank you, Roxanne. I can't believe how much better I feel after having talked to you."

Once she driven several miles back toward the city, away from the old schoolhouse, Roxanne pulled off the side of the road, and called Megamind. Once he answered, she asked, "So, what did you think?"

"That you're really good at your job. I'm feeling more optimistic about our chances based on what he said. I'm surprised how much he shared with you, how much he admitted…. And the girl's name was Cindy."

"We still on for tonight? Dinner at my place, then you give me another hoverbike lesson?"

"Of course. I'm looking forward to it."

Metro Man preferred to do his searching at night, because flying around in the daytime tended to attract too much attention. It's hard to work when throngs of adoring crowds gather around you. Or the news crews arrive, figuring that he must be doing something heroic. He had started out by going to all the old locations that Megamind had used. It was a long shot, but it was a place to start. But no, there was no sign that Megamind had recently returned to them. Now he was systematically working his way through all the abandoned warehouses and factories. He actually found signs of past habitation by Megamind in a few places, but it was all old traces, nothing new, nothing to indicate where he might be now. Tonight he thought he could finish with the rest of the factories and warehouses.

After checking a few places, he realized that he was not that far from Roxanne's apartment. He had been very touched by her visit to him. She had not come right out and said it, but he wondered if maybe she was finally starting to warm toward him. She had said that he should feel free to contact her if he wanted to talk again. It was enough of an excuse, he thought. He would stop by her apartment just to say hi, and ask if she had come up with any ideas. He wouldn't stay long. That should be all right.

Megamind dismounted from the hoverbike, making sure that the invisibility shield was firmly locked in the on position. He placed the bike as close to one side of Roxanne's balcony as he could, so she would not accidentally run into it if they came out later. Carrying the bouquet of yellow and red roses, he quickly entered the apartment and called her name. "Just a minute," she replied. When she walked out of her bedroom, she was carrying a large white box with a blue ribbon. Megamind's attention was on her dress: sapphire blue, to match the new necklace he had given her, low-cut, and the shortest he'd ever seen her wear.

"You look... amazing, beautiful."

"I have a present for you."

"Yes, I love the dress."

"Silly, I mean what's in the box."

"Oh, the dress is enough."

"Humor me. Open the box."

"As you wish." They sat down together on the couch. Lifting the lid, Megamind discovered a silk button up shirt very similar in color to her dress, and a pair of black slacks.

"Not to insult your tailor, but I thought you should expand your sartorial horizons. Go on, take it into the bedroom and put it on." When at first he didn't move, she touched his shoulder, and said "Humor me."

"As you wish."

She arranged the flowers in a vase while he changed. When he came out, she said, "You look very nice. What do you think?"

"It's all right, if you like it. Not as comfortable as my usual attire. And, I think buttons are just not as practical as zippers."

Roxanne laughed. "I'm hungry, so let's eat. But afterwards, I'll demonstrate the advantages of buttons."

As he approached her balcony, Metro Man could see no lights on in her apartment. He almost veered away to leave, but decided to stop anyways, to see if she was there. If she was sleeping, he wouldn't bother her. Landing on the balcony, he stopped to listen. He couldn't detect any sound, but then he noticed a shimmer at one end of her balcony. He recognized that shimmer; it was like the one given off by Megamind's invisible car. No, he thought, it can't be. He slowly approached the shimmer, stopping when he was inches away from it. Cautiously putting his hand out, he came in contact with something metal. Jerking his hand back, he realized that Megamind must be here, and therefore Roxanne was in danger.

Swiftly going to the door, he listened again. The sounds were very soft, but he thought he heard Roxanne's voice. It was indistinct, but then he could've sworn he heard her say "Megamind." Being as quiet as possible, he entered the apartment and moved in the direction of the sound, carefully, so as not to alert Megamind to his presence. The door to the room from which the sounds (was that a moan?) were emanating was open just a few inches. But what he saw through that small space – no, it wasn't possible. The image froze his brain; no, set it on fire!

He couldn't help himself. He burst into the room, and the words fell from his lips: "What the hell is going on in here?"

The figures on the bed were suddenly still. They looked to Metro Man like they were moving in slow motion: As one, the man and the woman broke their kiss, and turned their faces to him with expressions of shock. They rolled away from each other, Megamind to the side of the bed farthest from Metro Man, Roxanne to the side closest to him. But while Megamind's face was one of acute embarrassment, Roxanne's was full of rage. Roxanne stood up and marched toward Metro Man. "What's going on is that you broke into my apartment, and are interrupting my romantic evening with - my boyfriend." Then she lowered her voice, and whispered, "or should I say, my lover?" emphasizing the last word.

Metro Man found himself profoundly inarticulate. "But how, what, you two,…. what's going on? "

"What were you thinking, breaking into my apartment?"

"I didn't break in, the balcony door was unlocked. And you said I could contact you if I wanted to talk."

"I said 'contact.' Don't you know how to use a phone?"

During this interaction, Megamind hurriedly buttoned his shirt, went to the closet, and extracted Roxanne's robe. He brought it over to her and said, "Here, Roxanne, put this on. I think it will be easier for the men in the room to focus on our discussion if you wear this."

Roxanne allowed him to help her on with the robe, which covered up the revealing nature of her dress, saying, "As you wish." She led the way into the living room; then she strode to the balcony doors, and closed the drapes before turning on the lights. She waved Metro Man into one of the chairs, and sat on the couch next to Megamind, picking up his hand.

There was an awkward silence. Finally, Megamind ventured, "So, I understand you want to retire."

Metro Man grunted. "I suppose she told you that."

Megamind responded, "No, I heard you say it, I was listening in on the conversation you had with Roxanne."

"I was wearing a wire," Roxanne said brightly.

Glancing at her, Metro Man growled, "So you were lying to me earlier. How did you get roped into his criminal activities?"

Roxanne angrily retorted, "I did not-"

Megamind interrupted her, patting her knee, "Now, now, dear, let's give the man a break. He has, after all, no idea what's been going on since my, ahh, disappearance." Turning back to Metro Man, Megamind explained, "Since my disappearance, I have not been engaging in, nor planning, any criminal activity." He paused. "Well, to be more accurate, I should say the last four months. The prior three months I was engaged in, shall we say, some ambiguous behaviors? Close enough?" he said, glancing at Roxanne. She nodded her head. "But to continue: I, too, would like to retire from my former …. profession. Specifically, I no longer want to be the villain, the bad guy, the criminal mastermind. On the other hand, I have absolutely no intention of being sent to prison. I could break out of course-but what a waste of time, and frankly I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing. What I want to do is spend my time building a life with Roxanne." He looked meaningfully at her, raising her hand to his lips. Roxanne smiled at him.

Metro Man closed his eyes. "Will the two of you stop that?"

"Get used to it," Roxanne retorted.

Megamind continued, as if he'd not been interrupted, "So, we have a mutual problem. We both want to retire. You said that to retire with a clear conscience, you want reassurance that I will no longer return to my life of crime. I would be happy to try to persuade you of the truthfulness of that, whatever it is you need from me in order to be convinced. My problem however is a little more difficult. Preferably, I would like a pardon, so that I would not have to live in hiding, or move to another country. Roxanne, after all does have an established career in this city, and we would like to be able to go out in public without me constantly being in disguise."

"Is that what you've been doing all this time?" Metro Man asked.

"Yes. Sometimes using a disguise has been entertaining, but eventually, it does get a little tedious."

Metro Man interrupted, "But how could you possibly hide your big blue head?"

Megamind just looked at him, thought about ignoring the question, then said, "With technology. I'm a genius, remember? Back to the point: how can we help each other move into retirement? Oh, and you can stop your searching, since you now know where I am; at least, where I am much of the time, especially in the evening. I do have a laboratory for my experimenting and inventing- all quite legitimate at this time. I would recommend not entering it if you find it. I do have security equipment installed, and the brainbots can be a little …. unpredictable. "

"What about Minion?"

"In a... safe place. But his location really doesn't matter, does it, since he's never been convicted of anything in the courts?"

"Point taken."

Roxanne suddenly stood up. "This has all been very interesting, but I'm tired, and I'm ready to go to bed. Metro Man, I want you out of my apartment, now. But we're willing to continue this conversation. Let's say, at the schoolhouse, Saturday morning, 10 AM, because I do not want to get up too early on my day off. You, Metro Man, can provide the coffee."

Megamind spoke up, "I'll bring doughnuts."

Roxanne decisively walked over to her balcony door, and held it open for Metro Man. It looked like it was a real struggle for him to leave Roxanne in Megamind's presence, something he'd never done before. But he left.

Once he was gone, Megamind asked Roxanne, "Why did you imply to Metro Man that we had…. you know…. when we haven't?"

"I just wanted to give him something to chew on. And maybe it'll keep him from showing up at my apartment unannounced in the future."

"You're sure you're not disappointed...?"

"Sweetheart, I've told you, I can be patient. We'll wait until you're ready. But what were you thinking, implying to Metro Man that you spend the night here most evenings? That's not true either."

He chuckled. "You wanted to keep him away from your apartment; I want to keep him away from the Lair. We don't know yet how far we can trust him with our secrets. And I don't want to have to move everything in the Lair again. It's such a bother."

After a pause, Megamind said, "I suppose I should go, too."

"Oh, no, you're not leaving now." And she let her robe fall to the floor.

"But you said you were tired."

"That was for his benefit. I also said I was ready to go to bed. I had plans for this evening. You're not the only one who can be obsessive about plans."

"I thought you said you could be patient."

"I will continue to be patient. I just want to try pushing the boundaries a little."

"Temptress." And Megamind allowed her to lead him back to the bedroom.

The coffee, doughnuts, and the coffee cake made by Minion were spread out on the teacher's desk. Roxanne was standing by the chalkboard, saying, "So this is a brainstorming session. Just throw out any ideas you come up with, no matter how silly they seem. And no one can criticize anyone else's ideas, at least not until we've written down every idea we can think of."

After a long silence, Roxanne sighed. "All right, just to get you started…" she turned to the board and wrote 'move to another country,' followed by 'wear disguises continually.'

Megamind protested, "I thought we already ruled those out."

Roxanne answered him, "I said it was just to get you started. The whole point of brainstorming is to think of every possible idea. Don't worry about whether it's a good idea at first; it's just to get your brain thinking. After we can't come up with any other ideas, then we'll start discussing the pros and cons, and try to narrow it down to the best ideas. So, what else?"

Eventually they came up with:

- faking one or both of their deaths;

- contriving a new master villain that Megamind would defeat, either by himself, or in conjunction with Metro Man, to show Megamind in a new, heroic light;

- Metro Man would vouch for Megamind's reformation at a public press conference;

- Megamind would pretend to be Metro Man with the disguise watch, and fill-in for Metro Man's functions for several months; have the disguise watch suddenly not function during a critical incident, and reveal himself to have been the hero all along;

-Megamind would offer all his best inventions with military applications to the Defense Department, and try and extract a presidential pardon in return.

-Megamind would get a high profile attorney who would appeal his convictions on some technical legal grounds, such as the fact that, as a true 'alien,' the country's rules didn't apply to him.

"All right," Roxanne said. "Now let's discuss the pros and cons."

Megamind looked uncomfortable. "You know, I've been trying so hard to be 'good' for the last four months. To involve myself in a plan using some type of deception, well, it feels like going backward, rather than being the person that I want to be."

"That leaves the legal fight, bartering for a pardon, and the court of public opinion," summarized Roxanne.

"What do you mean by that last one?" inquired Megamind.

"It means, if we can convince the general public that you are now a good guy, that you've truly reformed, and it would be to the public welfare for you to be allowed to get on with your life, then we could possibly extract some kind of compromise with the legal system where you would get probation, or do community service, or something like that instead of having to go back to prison. Metro Man vouching for you publicly could be part of that."

"Well, the legal fight could take a very long time. I'm not sure I want to go through that," said Megamind. "I think bartering for a pardon plays to my strengths."

"I work in the media; I ought to be able to figure out a way to use it to your benefit." Roxanne sighed. "I'll just have to put more thought into it. I don't know that we can do anything more for today. Why don't we call it quits for now?" The men agreed.

As Roxanne walked toward the exit, Megamind signaled with his eyes for Metro Man to remain. Approaching his former rival, Megamind whispered, "You may have won all our battles, but in the end, I got the girl."

Metro Man responded, "I think you got the better end of the bargain."

"I know I did," Megamind retorted with a smirk.

AUTHOR NOTE:

If you enjoyed this, a review and/ or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Borrowed quotes from the movie, The Princess Bride and the book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.