This chapter might be a little rushed, but this is where things get intense.

"Minion! Where is the hover bike? Minion!"

Minion and Rachel emerged from the sewing room and Roxanne and Nora, startled by the noise, rushed to the main part of the Lair. The alien was searching frantically for the hover bike.

"Why don't you just take the invisible car, sir?" Minion questioned.

"It's not fast enough!" Megamind exclaimed. "Oh, where is it? Wait! Metro Man can get there with his super speed!"

He dialed and then tapped his foot impatiently as Metro Man's cell rang.

"Hi, this is Wayne Scott, also known as Metro Man and Music Man. I can't come to the phone right now because I'm busy writing a new song. Leave a message and call later."

Megamind groaned, "Why that lazy, good for nothing…"

"What's going on?" Nora Ritchi asked.

"Nothing! It's…a bank robbery! Minion, where did you park that bike?"

"Oh, it's behind the battle suit, sir!" the fish called, dragging it into view.

"Hold on," Roxanne grabbed her fiancé by the arm. "Since when do you freak out about a bank robbery?"

The hero couldn't find his words.

"Megamind, I know something's up."

"I don't have time for this, Roxanne!" Megamind yelled, wrenching his arm away. "I might be too late already!"

"Too late for what?"

He was already halfway on the hover bike.

"It's none of your business, you nosy reporter!"

That got Roxanne mad. She snatched his arm again and stopped his hand from turning the keys in the ignition. She glared at him with burning eyes.

"Megamind, we said there would be no more secrets between us. If you don't tell me what's going on right now, I swear, I'll call the wedding off, I'll pack my things, I'll march right out those doors and never come back!"

Every word pierced his heart like a sword. Time was running short and Mr. Ritchi might already be dead by now. He wasn't supposed to tell Roxanne, but she had a right to know and he didn't want to lose her forever.

He sighed heavily. "Your father's in danger, Roxanne."

Everyone's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked. "Our father is dead."

"No," Megamind said slowly. "He's not, but not for long. He called me saying Jack the Second is after him!"

"Jack the who?"

"Jack the Second," Nora confirmed. "He was a serial killer in Cincinnati. They never found him but…I don't understand."

Roxanne had been speechless for a minute. Then she let out an angry groan.

"I knew it! I knew he had found out something! He's been in the Witness Protection Program all this time, hasn't he? But how did you know?"

"I'll explain everything later!" Megamind assured her. "But right now I have to stop Jack the Second before he claims another victim!"

Roxanne hopped onto the bike and sat behind him. "I'm coming with you."

"No! It's too dangerous!"

"He's my father, Megamind. I have to go."

"Wait up!" Rachel exclaimed, raising her hand. "I'm coming too!"

Her sister was about to protest, but someone else had beat her to it. "No!"

Everyone looked surprisingly at Minion, who was clutching Rachel's raised hand. There was shock and worry in his eyes.

"I don't want you getting hurt, Rachel! This guy might kill you!"

Rachel blinked a few times before responding, "I…didn't know you cared, Minion. I appreciate your concern, but he's my dad too and I'm not just going to stand here while he needs our help."

Minion sighed, "Well, if you're going, then I'm going too!"

"No," Megamind disagreed. "This is something I must do alone. I'm not bringing my friends and fiancé into danger!"

"Sir, my sole purpose in life is to look after you and Miss Ritchi…and her family. You're not preventing me from going."

Megamind flinched as Roxanne slid her hands around his waist. "And you're going to need a crowbar to get me off this bike."

Rachel took Minion's hand and raised her chest defiantly. "We're with you all the way!"

The alien turned to Nora. "Are you joining them?"

"Uh uh," the cousin shook her head. "Do you think I want to come after a serial killer? I may be a big time news reporter, but I'm not crazy."

"Suit yourself. Alright, you can all come. Minion, Miss Ritchi, take the invisible car and meet us at the Metrocity Plaza Hotel in Room 514. Roxanne, hang on tight. Let's go save your father."

Megamind flew the hover bike at its highest speed. During the ride, he had phoned the police and Agent Donovan, though he knew they wouldn't get there fast enough. Roxanne had moved to his lap, since his cape was flying in the wind behind him.

"So let me get this straight," she said after Megamind had finished his calls. "You've known my father was alive and didn't tell me?"

"Agent Donny-vain told me not to," he explained. "I wanted to, Roxanne, I really did!"

"That's what all that top secret stuff was about!"

"I just hope we're not too late."

The Metro City Plaza came into view and Megamind tried to figure out which window belonged to Room 514. He glanced into every one on the fifth floor. The lights were out in some of them because they were vacant. Then he saw one dark window with a paper sign taped against it, with the word HELP in black ink.

"Your father is an intelligent man," he muttered to his fiancé.

Slowly, he lowered the bike onto the small balcony. He helped Roxanne down before getting off himself. The couple crouched against the wall on opposite sides of the glass door. Megamind held up a finger to his lips and listened carefully.

"I don't hear anything," he whispered, and then took out his watch. "Minion, where are you right now?"

"I'm almost at the hotel, sir," the fish replied on the other end.

"Good. Once you're there, go up to Room 514. Break down the door if you have to."

He then turned to Roxanne. "Now listen to me. I'm going to go look around. Stay put and don't make a sound. If that killer is in there, I don't want him to see you. If I don't come out, take the bike and get out of here."

"Wait," Roxanne whispered. "In case you die."

She gave him a quick kiss.

"Whatever happens," Megamind said, taking out his gun, "remember that I love you."

She nodded and the hero slowly rose and cautiously opened the door. It was pitch-black inside, so it was hard to see. All was quiet, until Megamind heard a faint groan. There was a tiny ray of light, coming from under a door on the left. The hero crept over to it, trying to keep his step as silent as possible.

His finger tightened on the trigger of his gun, he vigilantly opened the door, revealing the kitchen and living area of the suite. The mumble came again and Megamind turned and gasped at the sight. Mr. Ritchi was tied to a chair, his mouth gagged and his eyes filled with fear. Hovering over him, holding a surgeon's knife at his throat was a man wearing a long overcoat, his face half hidden by his hat.

"Megamind," he said in a Romanian accent. "We thought you'd be coming."

The hero pointed his gun at him, his hand shaky. How did he even get into the room without a key?

"You shoot, I cut his throat."

The killer pressed the knife closer to his victim's neck.

"Jack the Second, I presume," Megamind said, trying to sound confident. The thought of Mr. Ritchi's throat being slashed made him sick in the stomach. "Or should I say Dr. Eon Pan-ee-scu?"

The villain raised his head, showing the face from the dream. Megamind did a mental fist pump at being right.

"So you've figured it out," Dr. Panescu stated. "And it's Dr. Ion Panescu to you. You stupid Americans are terrible at pro-noon-sing words not in your language!"

"Well, look at who's talking," Megamind chuckled. "The word is pronouncing. Even I know that! Now move away from Mr. Ritchi before I turn you into a dehydrated cube."

"Mr. Ritchi will be dead before you have the chance to pull the trigger."

"Your days of slaughtering are over, doctor."

There was the sound of a gun click behind him and a familiar voice, "Drop the weapon."

Megamind sighed with relief, "Agent Donny-vain, thank goodness! How did you get here so fast?"

But when he turned his head, his relief washed away and was replaced with shock. Agent Donovan was there alright and he had a gun, but it was pointed at his giant blue head. Struggling in his arms was Roxanne, whose mouth was covered by his hand.

"Drop the weapon," Agent Donovan repeated, turning the pistol toward Roxanne. "Or your girlfriend gets it."

Megamind had no choice but to release his grip on his gun and raise his hands in surrender.

"I don't understand," he said.

"You might as well know the truth before we kill the lot of you," Donovan grinned maliciously. "You see the reason the FBI hasn't caught Dr. Panescu yet is because I've been helping cover his tracks. Unfortunately, he has a habit of losing gloves."

"They fall out of my pocket!" Dr. Panescu exclaimed.

"Why though?" Megamind questioned. "If you had been working for him all this time, why keep Mr. Ritchi alive? And why help him?"

"Ion is a cousin of mine," Donovan explained. "He also pays handsomely. We've kept Mr. Ritchi alive all these years, mainly because of who his daughter is. We were afraid her boyfriend Metro Man would come looking for us if we killed her father. Then you came along.

"With your enormous brain, you could have figured it all out in a millisecond, but you didn't know about Miss Ritchi's father. Our plan was to lure you to your death. So I stole the evidence against my cousin and handed it over to you. We wanted you to find his identity. By that time, we would have Mr. Ritchi to use against you. With you and him out of the way, no one will know the true name of Jack the Second! I hadn't planned for you to bring your girlfriend, which makes it all the more interesting."

"There's one last thing I don't understand," Megamind said as Donovan pointed the gun at him again. "How did you manage to get in here?"

"I just flashed my badge and they gave me the key. So Megamind, any last words before I shoot you?"

The alien was about to speak when he heard a small buzzing noise. He smiled at the recognition.

"Well, there is one thing I'd like to say."

"And what is that?"

"The bad guys always lose, because the hero always has a backup plan!"

A loud crash caused the two villains to glance at the front door. Roxanne took advantage of Donovan's distraction and snatched the gun from his hand. There was a struggle between the two as they tried to gain possession of the weapon. Megamind didn't hesitate to pick up his weapon, turn around and zap Dr. Panescu as his mouth dropped open in disbelief. At this point, Roxanne had the gun pointed at the double agent. The alien was impressed.

"How did you manage to do that?" he asked in awe.

"Being constantly kidnapped by you, I decided to take some self-defense classes," Roxanne smirked.

Megamind laughed as he dehydrated Donovan. Minion was standing in the doorway, swinging a gun around his finger as the smoke cleared. Rachel appeared behind him.

"So what did we miss?" the fish asked.

"Minion, your timing couldn't have been any more perfect!" Megamind exclaimed, holding up the two dehydrated cubes. "Jack the Second and his accomplice will never hurt anyone again!"

Rachel's eyes widened once she saw the man tied to the chair. "Dad?"

She rushed to his side and slid the gag off. He gasped for breath as Roxanne quickly started untying him.

"Oh, my girls," Mr. Ritchi sighed. "I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again."

As soon as his hands were free, he threw his arms around his daughters.

"We thought you were dead," Rachel sobbed, tears coming out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry," their father said. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"It wasn't your fault," Roxanne assured him, sniffing. "We're just so glad that you're alive."

They slowly broke apart and Mr. Ritchi looked up at the two aliens, smiling.

"I always knew you had something good in you, Megamind. I'll be proud to call you my son-in-law. Thank you."

"Mr. Ritchi," Megamind said, shaking his hand, "it is a pleasure to finally meet you."

Roberta Ritchi was sitting alone on the couch, eating a TV dinner while watching the news. This was how she usually spent her afternoons. Her husband was gone and her children had turned against her. Now she was all by herself.

The doorbell rang and Mrs. Ritchi figured it must have been another insurance agent. She was about to state her refusal while opening the door and then froze once she saw who was standing there. His hair had grayed a little, but otherwise, he hadn't changed.

"Richard?"

"I'm home, Roberta."

There was silence as they stared at each other. Then she threw her arms around him and cried.

"You're alive," she wept. "But how?"

"I've been in the Witness Protection Program," Mr. Ritchi explained. "Jack the Second is finally put away, thanks to a friend. He won't be bothering us again."

Mrs. Ritchi opened her eyes and saw that her husband wasn't alone. Her daughters were standing behind him, Roxanne's hand holding that of a certain blue alien. She released her husband and looked at Megamind in disbelief.

"Did you..?" she stammered.

"Yes," Mr. Ritchi nodded. "If it hadn't been for Roxanne's fiancé here, I would be dead right now."

Cautiously, Mrs. Ritchi approached the couple. Megamind put on a nervous smile. His eyes then widened as the woman's arms suddenly wrapped around him.

"Thank you," she muttered. "I guess I was wrong about you." She moved away and faced her oldest daughter. "I'm sorry for my behavior, Roxanne. You have a fine man here. And you," she was talking to Megamind again. "You better take good care of my little girl."

"Don't worry," the hero smiled. "I will."

Yay! Family together! Hope that was okay.

I probably won't update for a few days. Homework, you know?