Hello and Happy New Year all! I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to sit down and write! But now that everything is calming down once more, here I am! And here you are! And here's a chapter! Enjoy!

OH and just a little friendly note; be prepared for something very exciting towards the end of this chapter :)

**recently made a few alterations, I hope you all enjoy :)**

He felt now that he was not simply close to her, but that he did not know where he ended and she began. ~Leo Tolstoy

Chapter 10

All around them the crew busied about, setting up lights and boom mics. Megamind shifted in his chair once more, growing impatient.

"Y-you were great out there Mr. Megamind sir."

"Well thank you uh…"

"Ne-Neil, sir." Said the young man. Megamind shifted his attention back to the quivering young man that stood before him. He was a gangly thing; that was for sure. He had already stuttered out twice now that he was an intern for station. Megamind wasn't entirely sure if Neil was intimidated by him or rather by the mere action of talking to others in general. He gave the young man a patient smile; after all if he was going to be the good guy now, he had to start somewhere.

"And we're live in 3…2…" from behind the cameras, their cameraman gave the signal that they were live.

"Hello and good afternoon. I'm Roxanne Ritchi, here live with the defender of Metro City; Megamind. That was quite a presentation you gave earlier! It seems you're settling into the hero role comfortably." Roxanne flashed a smile at him. Megamind chuckled, crossing an ankle over his knee as he rested his elbows on the armrests of his chair.

"Yes, dare I say I think it suits me better than my previous occupation?"

"Well from that crowd earlier I'm sure everyone agrees with that. But why don't we get to know the real you? There are an awful lot of books out there that claim to know the truth, yet they all seem to differ in "fact". How about we get down to who the real Megamind is?"

He chuckled, shaking his head.

"First of all, let me just say that almost everything inside of those books is false. It's obvious that I am an alien, there's no need to skirt around that. When I was an infant my home was destroyed, and in a last ditch effort to save me my parents sent me in a roughly made pod to Earth. Through a series of…interesting circumstances to say the least, my escape pod landed in the jail yard. That was where I grew up."

Roxanne could hear the mutters and whispers of the crew and fed off of it.

"A jail? Sort of an unorthodox place to raise a child isn't it?"

"Well yes. But for someone like me, it was probably the safest… the warden kept me there rather than risk certain governmental agencies coming for me."

"Was it at least a happy childhood?"

"Oh yes." He smiled fondly. "I had my minion, the Warden, and the men who found me became sort of surrogate uncles. They raised me; kept me happy… and the warden gave me access to as many books as I could ask for." He paused a second, his gaze seeing some far off memory as he chuckled. "I swear as a child I got almost anything I asked for."

"So, a warm bed, family… a father figure?" Roxanne looked to him and he gave a nod, the hint of his smile still there.

"How about school? It's been said that when you were in grade school you blew your school up, which I find it very hard to believe. What is it that these books have wrong?" Roxanne asked him, after all; they were here to clear his name as well.

"School was… a rather difficult time. Many children get bullied in school, but I got the worst of it; obviously for my difference in appearance and my home life. It was there that I met Metro Mahn once more."

"Once more?" Roxanne smirked, she knew this story well, but couldn't wait for it to blow the socks off everyone else.

"Oh yes, you see, his was the pod that threw mine off track. My planet was not the only one being sucked into a black hole."

"So this meeting in school became a sort of reunion then. How did that fare out?"

"Well…like any children we were competitive. But things generally went wrong for me…something always happened and turned in his favor. I quickly became the laughingstock of the classroom. There wasn't a day I didn't spend in that corner for even something as innocent as tripping over my own two feet and instead being accused of tackling somebody."

"It went far past bullying then?"

"You could say that. Metro Mahn became the poster boy for golden stars; everyone including the teacher favored him. I became an outcast, the black sheep. It wasn't just your normal bullying anymore." His eyebrows creased. From behind the cameras you could hear a pin drop; everyone was so tied to his words. "It was then that I made the decision that if all I could do was bad, I might as well just be bad. And no, I never blew up the school. They made fun of my blue skin so often that I wanted them to feel how it felt to be blue as well. It was a paint bomb, simple and completely safe. I left school after that, learning from the books the Warden bought me. I suppose after that you can say I became your typical rebellious teenager before moving on to more…villainous motives."

Roxanne stared at him for a moment. It always crushed her heart to hear of how he had been treated in school, how not a single soul reached out to be his friend, how not even the teacher stood up for him but instead condoned to his bullying and punishment. She cleared her throat gently, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"For most of your life, you've stayed away from others; save for when you kidnapped me and fought Metro Man of course." She paused a moment to offer a small smile. "Why? You could have led a different life… I'm sure most anyone would agree you could have become a world famous inventor with everything you've come up with. So why not let everything that happened in school drop? Why avoid everyone?"

She watched his expression drop and quickly feared her question had gone too far. She saw how his eyes flashed, trying to hide his expression, and knew he was thinking of his upbringing, how he had been raised in a jail and bullied as a child, how he had been shunned as a teen and had felt he had no other business but to be a villain. She knew various points of his life were flashing through that brilliant mind at a million miles a second, depicting every shun and scream, every time he was blamed, and every time he defied the law. She was about to call for a cut when he inhaled, and opened his mouth to speak. His voice was softer now, more serious.

"It's hard to get close to people when you have lost all your self-worth. Pushing people away soon becomes a second nature and even though you don't mean to, you find yourself picking arguments about things you really could care less about. You cling onto the ones you love for dear life, hoping that maybe they can help you find some sunlight during the storm. But, you soon realize that the ones you love most are the ones you shove yourself away from the most. All relationships become a lose-lose battle as you fight to keep them close to you, but at the same time it's so hard for them to just walk away."

"You're referring to your relationships with Minion and the Warden? Maybe even Metro Man himself? What more can you tell us about that?"

Megamind smirked once more.

"We had our fun he and I… battling for Metrocity. Somewhere though, it became less of a competition and more of a game. It was a show for everyone else, maybe even for ourselves. We never intentionally aimed to hurt one or the other. What would have been the fun in that? The game would have ended."

"Seems like somewhere along the line you two became friends." Roxanne echoed her words from not so long ago.

"I suppose you can say we did."

"So what about what happened that day at the fake observatory?" she inquired. Now she was toeing her own line. She had made a deal with Wayne and she wasn't going to break that yet; his time still wasn't up.

"My biggest accident to date. I never meant to ever kill him. I never tried to kill anybody. I guess the whole time, while I acted the villain, I never would have once intentionally brought harm to anybody. I've never been more sorry for anything I've done; I not only killed this city's hero…I killed my friend too."

They paused again, hearing the whispers through the studio. For a brief second Roxanne and Megamind's eyes met and knew that the city would believe that they too believed Wayne to be dead.

"And Titan?"

"A stupid experiment; I grew bored without a hero to fight. What was the point of being the villain of Metrocity if I didn't have a hero to battle for it? So using DNA found on an old cape of Metro Mahn's, I compiled his powers into a single pill. Then under accidental circumstances while trying to…protect my home from someone who had broken in, it was accidentally injected into the one Hal Schtewart, or Titan."

"Titan…the hero turned villain. That certainly wasn't a part of the plan." Roxanne smirked, hoping her blush didn't show when he mentioned the 'break-in', and Megamind chuckled, shaking his head.

"Certainly not, no. He chose to use those powers to take over the city himself, in an effort to have control over those who had looked over him before."

"And that was when you stepped in as the hero." Roxanne smiled fondly to him. "You saved me, and you saved the city; seems like you made some choices of your own."

"I never really imagined myself playing the hero…that was always his job. I never thought anyone would have ever believed in me anyway…not like I had the chance."

"Well, it looks like it would be your turn to have a chance as the hero then, wouldn't it?" she smiled to him.

"Indeed. And I promise to do my very best to continue to protect the city of Metrocity, and its people." He nodded seriously to her, but his eyes flashed something more, something only she could pick up. He would protect the people and the city, but she would be the first priority on his list, and he would never let her be in danger again.

"Well...thank you for taking time to talk to us all today. But I do believe you have an inaugural ball to be getting to?"

"Yes, I suppose I do." He smiled with a nod and Roxanne turned her focus to the cameras now.

"This has been Roxanne Ritchi meeting live with Metro City's own hero Megamind. You've been watching KCMP News, 8."

It seemed that everyone who was anyone was at the inaugural ball, as well as many of the citizens of Metro City who had managed to snag a ticket. Everyone wanted a chance to shake the hand of their hero or snag a picture or autograph from him. And if it wasn't Megamind, it was Minion; whose food had quickly become the talk of the town. Already he'd been approached by several chefs and culinary magazines, begging him for lessons, interviews and seminars.

Dinner was but halfway through when a man drunkenly stumbled up to Megamind, his words slurring as he tripped into another table. His words were so slurred in fact that it was nearly impossible to understand him.

"….this blue freak as our hero. Who t'hell d'you thinks you are? Acting like some hot shot?" he staggered and caught himself on the table's edge. He glared at Megamind.

"Sir…I think you've indulged a bit too much. Why don't you go sit back down?" Roxanne attempted. The man looked to her, trying to blink away the swirls that fogged his vision.

"Don't you talk to me like that! You're the skank bedding him! He killed Metro Man! I'll take care of him!" and with that he brandished a gun. All around was the sound of gasps and screams as people made to duck or stand in readiness to run. Megamind was quickly on his feet and shielded Roxanne who had stood as well. He cursed himself for not having his DE-gun, but he had opted to leave it out of his outfit after the interview, he had wanted to seem friendly and open on his first official day as hero.

"Sir, I think it's time you leave." His voice was strong and steady as he watched the gun the man held. The man teetered back and forth, swinging the gun as he did so. Everything that happened next came in a blur. The man cocked the gun, taking aim. A shot rang out with a chorus of screams as a blur shot through the room. Roxanne slowly opened eyes that she was unaware she had closed, and found a large figure blocking her view of the man. As everyone else came to their feet the murmuring began.

"I think it's time you left the party." Said the deep timbre. The inebriated man stared at the bullet that had bounced off the broad chest and landed to the floor.

"Metro Man? But…you're dead." he said in shock. A chorus of disbelief rang from the rest of the crowd at the shock of seeing their believed-to-be-dead hero standing alive in front of them.

Wayne looked around, a lump clear in his throat as he turned to meet glances with Roxanne. She gave him an encouraging nod and he sighed before he turned his gaze back to the crowd and began his story of what really happened that day all those weeks ago.

It took a lot of shouting, a lot of questions and a lot of apologizing, but finally the crowd calmed down. It would take a while for many of them, but there seemed to be something in the air that gave off the feeling that the citizens would be able to forgive Metro Man one day. Once the proper authorities came and hauled the drunken man away for attempt of murder the party was able to get back into swing. Slowly the crowd trickled back into their eating and dancing. Wayne however looked solemnly to Roxanne and Megamind and gave them a soft nod. Roxanne moved in and hugged his broad shoulders.

"I'm proud of you Wayne." She said quietly. He nodded, his eyes moving to Megamind. The little blue man stared at him a moment before his face broke into a smile. He thrusted his hand forwards for a friendly handshake.

"I can't thank you enough old friend."

Roxanne smiled as she watched the pair shake hands; maybe this was all they really needed to start the down the road of a proper friendship.

Wayne soon after excused himself, preferring to indulge in some more of the "delicious food from that funny little fish". Megamind turned to Roxanne and he curved one of his eyebrows as he offered a hand.

"Care in joining me for a dance Ms. Ritchi?"

"You can dance?" she smirked. He scoffed, feigning hurt.

"You doubt my abilities once more!" and with that he led her onto the floor. It wasn't often that the city had an actual "ball" such as this; only for the New Years Eve Masquerade and the mid-fall King's and Queen's Ball. Many a couple took to the floor during these occasions and they were fortunate to have such a large dance floor. Megamind and Roxanne glided easily between the other couples, always keeping a perfect rhythm to the music. Roxanne, for one, was impressed. He certainly had hidden talents, and this was one she secretly found very sexy. On and on they danced as the songs changed, and she found herself growing ever more enamored with the blue alien before her. He had found yet another way to stun and impress her. As her eyes met his it was to find them glowing with a strange look, it was warm and captivating and strangely heated.

The tune changed once again and he spun her around and around the floor, and several of the couples stopped to widen the circle in which they spun, watching in awe at the perfect synchronization with which they moved. Upon the last note he dipped her smoothly, and their eyes met with a spark that they both felt in their very cores. Roxanne stared up into those starburst green eyes of his and silently hoped that he couldn't feel the way her heart was beating its way out of her chest. He stared back and slowly brought her back up to meet her lips in a kiss. They hardly took heed to the flashing cameras and spectators around them. He let out a soft husky laugh and kissed the top of her knuckles as he took one of her hands in his, and led her from the dance floor.

Minion was standing behind a long white table laden with many a silver dish. He smiled to his friends; readying to serve them another drink or dessert. That was when he saw the funny twinkle in his best friend's eye.

"Minion, Ms. Ritchi and I shall be retiring for the night. The car is yours for the night; we shall take the hover bike home." And with that he dropped the keys into a stunned Minion's hand before he turned and hurried away with a giggling Roxanne in tow.

Once outside he led her to the hover bike parked on the sidewalk. As soon as she saw it she felt a tremor of fear drop into her stomach. The last time she had been on the bike she almost died, so naturally Roxanne was adamant about riding it; Mykael had only just recently repaired it and she knew there were still a few more kinks to be worked out. But it was a short ride and he had made it safely when he rode it in to the opening of the museum, hadn't he? Still, as they took off she gripped her arms around his waist tightly. Sensing her fear he placed a hand on one of her arms, rubbing it soothingly. As they leveled out her fear slowly dissipated, due in some part to his not taking them as high as he normally would ride, and she let herself relax. She leaned forwards, and rested her chin on his shoulder, watching the night as they passed by. Feeling mischievous and remembering exactly why they had left the party Roxanne leaned in, and touched her lips against the skin below his ear. He jumped in surprise; he certainly hadn't been expecting that! Shock turned into a chuckle though and he dared to glance back at her, seeing her return his smile. He gripped her arms tighter across his middle he sped up the bike, eager to get to the Lair.

They stumbled through the darkness of the unlit hallways, limbs exploring over one another's bodies as they backed up into yet another wall. There was a funny path of shoes and coats left in their wake as they continued through the Lair. It had become somewhat of a pattern now, first her back, then his, crashing into the walls, stumbling over their own feet and one another's in their heated quest to the bedroom. They weren't even fully aware of just how many nick-knacks and tools they had knocked to the floor. Finally Mykael decided it was just much easier to subtract one pair of feet from the equation and lifted her up. Even in her heated mindset Roxanne found herself surprised at his strength. Her legs instantly went around his waist, instinctively, and he couldn't hold back the growl that escaped from this throat as he felt just how perfectly they meshed together, and his fingers squeezed into the flesh of her hip. She entwined her fingers behind his head as he continued to explore her mouth. A shiver ran down his spine as her finger brushed against the bare skin of his neck.

Finally they reached their destination and he released a hand from around her only long enough to turn the doorknob. No sooner were they inside that he kicked the door closed and carried her to the bed with their lips still locked. He blindly walked to the bed, and no sooner did his knees hit it that he leaned forward and tipped her back. She let out a yelp of surprise and giggled as she landed with a soft thump onto the mattress. He was looking down at her with that smoulder he did so well and he knelt over her, running a thumb over her hip while his other hand cradled the back of her head, his long blue fingers tangled into her brown tresses. She trailed one of her hands from his neck and over one of his ears, coming to grip his shirtfront. She leaned up into his lips. That kiss ignited another spark, and his body felt as if it were magnetically pulling him to her and he wrapped his arm under her back and lifted her upwards to him as she let out a breathy moan that was music to his ears and set his very insides on fire.

They roamed up the bed, and her hands clawed into his shoulders as his hot breath tickled her ear as his lips caressed the skin of her neck there. He pulled back just enough to look into her eyes, their faces were illuminated in the dim light from the nearby alarm clock and the few blinking lights from the panels on the wall.

They seemed to come to a simultaneous decision that too much clothing was too much in the way.

Even in the heated moment he was careful as he unzipped her beloved new garment, another clearly thinking part of his brain knowing that Minion would slay the both of them if they ripped it. Roxanne herself struggled slightly with the zippers of his outfit; no sooner getting it undone that she briskly pulled it down his shoulders in attempt to place her hands against the smooth skin of his chest. With the barrier of clothing out of the way hands roamed on freshly exposed skin; lips trailed on collar bones and chests. Roxanne let out a gasp of surprise and pure ecstasy when, in an unexpected move, Mykael slid his hands up her sides and to her front, gently caressing her generous womanly curves. He bent his neck to kiss and worship as much skin as he could and she let out a series of breathy gasps. She leaned her own head down and nibbled on the top tips of his ever sensitive ears. He slowly sat up straight and trailed kisses up her neck as he wrapped his arms around her and laid them both back onto the bed once more.

As their eyes locked they sensed a shift in the atmosphere; in themselves. It was a hunger for one another; an urgent and exciting thirst for one another that they knew would be forever insatiable. The feeling was not entirely new, but now that it was so pure and so obvious they could not ignore it.

All those years of unbidden attraction; of sexual frustration and an endless growing passion to learn more about the other.

The time was now, and it was right.

They needed no words, for the very feelings pouring out from them said it all. He loved her and she loved him, and they were all the other needed.

He leaned down to kiss her, ravaging her mouth, and she reacted with likewise ferocity. Hands roamed over hands and bodies, desperate to be as close as they could be, searching for warm flesh. He lifted her again to finish their journey up the bed; extra pillows fell to the floor as they shifted the blankets beneath them. He held Roxanne tightly to him as he hovered over her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and raised her hips in a small buck into him. He gasped at the sensation, and then his breath stopped as she buried her lips into his neck and she kissed and nipped at the bare skin. With a breathy growl he clung to her tightly, and kissed his way from her shoulder to her neck before he found her lips once more. He poured every ounce of passion that he could muster into that kiss.

If Roxanne had been one for clichés she would have said that the very kiss made the earth shake.

If Mykael thought about it he would have said he saw fireworks.

They were two forces moving together, like waves of the ocean rolling into one.

And then they became one; joined together in a symphony all their own. It was a new and euphoric experience and one they would never grow tired of. One that would forever join them that no force could ever break apart.

And there you have it folks! The end of another chapter! Told you it'd be good! Leave me reviews and love. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up soon!