Critisize me all you want, I'm not changing my plan for the rest of this story!

The three of them stood over the bed as Rachel continued to cough. She had received some bruises from the fall, so Megamind ordered the Brainbots to get her some icepacks, but they wouldn't use them yet. They had to stop the choking first before tending to the minor injuries.

"Sir, her coughing is getting worse!" Minion exclaimed. "Has the Defuser Gun warmed up yet?"

The alien checked. "Not yet, Minion. Why do you have to make everything warm up before working?"

"Hey, it's not my fault! You're the one who built the gun!"

"Why not try the Heimlich maneuver?" Roxanne suggested.

Megamind was about to protest, but Minion was already lifting Rachel up and pressing down on her stomach. It only wheezed the breath out of her. The fish put her down before he could hurt her any further.

"It's not that simple," Megamind explained. "As soon as the capsule enters the body, it breaks apart and does its work."

"Megamind, what does the gun do?" Roxanne asked again.

"I had managed to obtain some of Metro Man's DNA from a cape he had torn off during one of my evil plots. I extracted his powers from it and loaded it into this gun. I was hoping to zap someone I could use against Metro Man, but I figured that someone with his powers would be too powerful to control."

"So Rachel's going to get Metro Man's powers?"

"I'm not sure. You see it was supposed to be infused through the nostrils, but it went down her throat instead. The substance could be dangerous if digested."

Roxanne and Minion gulped simultaneously. "You mean it could kill her?"

The alien nodded. "It could, possibly worse."

"What could be worse?"

"It might blow her up on the inside."

She scowled and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Ouch!" he cried out. "What was that for?"

"A great many things," the reporter grunted.

"Sir, Rachel!" Minion reminded him.

It was then that the woman stopped coughing and slipped into an unconscious state. Minion and Roxanne became even more worried. Megamind took the patient's wrist.

"She still has a pulse," he confirmed, "and she's breathing steadily."

"But is she going to be alright?" Minion asked hopefully.

Megamind checked the gun and smiled when it read: Defuse. He gently placed the nozzle up Rachel's nose and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.

"Tip her head back, Minion," he ordered.

Minion obeyed and Rachel's mouth fell open. Megamind tried chucking the gun down her throat, but he went too far and only caused more coughing.

"Sir, you're choking her!" Minion cried, pushing the gun away.

"I don't understand," the blue alien said, shaking the invention. "It won't defuse!"

"Why won't it work?"

"Ugh, it's because she swallowed the capsule when it was supposed to go up her nose!"

The fish narrowed his eyes. "You think Rachel wanted to swallow it?"

Megamind let out a shriek as Roxanne hit him on the back of the head again.

"This is all your fault!" she scolded him.

His mouth dropped open. "My fault?"

"Yes! Your invention nearly killed my sister!"

"Excuse me? Do you think I was planning to shoot your sister? You're the one who set it off!"

"You bumped into me!"

"Oh yes, but you're the one who picked up the gun!"

"You were the one who invented it! If you thought it was so dangerous, why didn't you just destroy it instead of leaving it lying around?"

"I…that is…you shouldn't have snuck into my Lair!"

"We wouldn't have snuck in if you boys hadn't dumped us!"

The alien's eyes widened. "Dumped you? Dumped you? Let me make one thing clear, Miss Ritchi. I couldn't have dumped you if we were never dating in the first place!"

"Then what have we been doing?"

"We were…that is…you…me…"

Minion couldn't take it anymore and stood up. "Sir, just tell her already!"

"Tell me what?" Roxanne questioned, folding her arms.

"Don't listen to him!" Megamind protested. "He's crazy!

"You tell her right now, sir!" the fish said again. "Tell her, or I'll do it for you!"

Megamind narrowed his eyes. "You wouldn't."

Minion gave a smug look. "I would."

"Don't you dare, Minion!"

"Roxanne…"

"I'm losing my patience!"

"Sir is…"

"Stop it!"

"In l…"

Megamind screamed as he leaped over the bed and tackled his friend. The two struggled on the ground as they attempted to strangle each other. Roxanne took immediate action and pushed to break them apart.

"Boys, stop this!" she shouted. "Look at us! We're behaving like children when my sister's knocked cold!"

The aliens stared at each other.

"She's right, sir," Minion said. "We have to be serious in this situation. Rachel's life is more important."

"Yes, Minion," Megamind agreed, smoothing out his cape. "We must be serious."

"Um, guys?" Roxanne stammered. "Is that supposed to happen?"

They turned to look at Rachel, her body illuminated with a strange yellow light.

"The capsule," Megamind gasped. "I think it's working!"

"Is that good or bad?" the reporter asked worriedly.

"It means that your sister won't die, that's for sure!"

The three watched in anticipation as the light became brighter. Megamind bit his lip with excitement as the other two gaped in amazement. Suddenly the light vanished and Rachel's eyes popped open. Minion was immediately at her side.

"Rachel, are you alright?" he pleaded.

She blinked as his adorable face came into focus. "Minion? I'm fine, I guess. What happened?" Her hands flew up to her eyes. "Ow, why do my eyes hurt?"

"Rach, do you remember anything?" her sister asked, taking her hand.

"It's kind of fuzzy. The last thing I remember is swallowing some glowing yellow thing and not being able to breathe and then falling down. I thought I was a goner and then…Minion." She glanced up at the fish. "You were there, holding me."

Minion started blushing like crazy. Rachel then noticed Megamind's giddy look and her sister's confused expression.

"What's everybody staring at me for?" she inquired.

"She doesn't look any different," Roxanne whispered to Megamind.

"Looks can be deceiving," the alien pointed out.

He started feeling up and down Rachel's arm. She pulled it away in shock.

"Whoa, hands off, buddy!"

"Roxanne," he said, "feel her arm."

The reporter did so and her eyes widened. Out of curiosity, Rachel decided to check her arm herself. Her muscles felt bigger, though the change wasn't visible through her shirt.

"That's weird," she said. "I don't remember working out."

"I wonder," Megamind thought aloud.

Without warning, he reached for the lamp on his bedside table and threw it at the woman. There was a crack and Roxanne and Minion screamed.

"Megamind, are you crazy?"

"Yes," the villain said. "But look!"

They looked and gawked. Rachel's arm was blocking her face and the lamp had been smashed to debris. The woman opened one eye and stared at the mess she had created.

"How the heck did I do that?" she wondered aloud.

Megamind clapped his hands excitedly. "Oh, this is good! Let's see what else you can do, Miss Ritchi."

He left for a moment and came back with a stack of cards. He held one up, the back facing Rachel.

"What's on this card, Miss Ritchi?"

The woman simply stared at him. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Just cooperate and tell me what you see."

Rachel leaned forward and settled her head on her hand. She continued staring, but then squinted at the card.

"Circle?" she said with incredulity

Megamind's grin grew wider as he picked up more cards.

"Square? Triangle? A couple of wavy lines? Diamond?" She suddenly covered her eyes. "Ouch, what is up with these eyes?"

When she opened them again, a red laser beam shot out of them and melted the card Megamind had been holding. Everyone else gasped, but the blue alien just smiled again.

"She got all of them right!" he exclaimed. "One more thing to try."

He took out his Dehydration Gun and fired. Rachel yelped and moved her head out of the way in a split second. A chunk of the wall behind her was transformed into a blue cube.

"Nicely dodged, Miss Ritchi," Megamind complimented. "But could you stay still this time? I swear this won't hurt a bit."

Rachel gulped as he zapped again. She could feel the blue energy envelope around her, but nothing happened. Megamind clapped his hands together and applauded.

"Oh, bravo, Miss Ritchi!" he congratulated her and then turned to Minion. "She has his strength, his invulnerability, his x-ray vision, his lasers… It actually worked! She's not as muscular as I thought she'd be, but it worked! I'm a genius!"

Minion examined the areas where Rachel's bruises had been, but there were none.

"Sir, her bruises are gone!"

"But why do her eyes hurt?" Roxanne inquired.

"It's probably a side-effect from having the capsule chucked down her throat," Megamind said, stroking his chin in thought.

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on here?" Rachel demanded.

"Heh," Minion chuckled a bit. "Rachel, I don't know how to tell you this, but…"

Roxanne interrupted him. "You got zapped by one of Megamind's inventions and now you have Metro Man's powers."

Rachel's eyebrows shot up. "Come again?"

"Yes, Miss Ritchi!" Megamind said, pointing a dramatic finger in the air. "You possess the same powers as Metro Man, which now makes you the most powerful woman in the universe!"

She blinked, trying to process this. Then she put on her usual grin.

"No freaking way!"

"Before we go any further with this," Minion said, "there's something I want to know. Rachel, why the heck did you two sneak into the Lair? You could've died from that gun! I was worried about you!"

Rachel couldn't believe her ears. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course I was! What were you thinking?"

"I just wanted to see you."

Minion's anger faded and was transformed into astonishment. "You wanted to see me?"

"Of course! You wouldn't respond to my emails and Roxanne said you had both chosen to disappear! Minion, there's something I've wanted to tell you and I had to say it to your face."

She took his metal hand and gazed deeply into his autumn brown eyes. "That other day at the park, when I stopped, it wasn't because I didn't want to. It was because you were in disguise. I stopped because it was your hands I wanted to hold and it was your face I wanted to see. I don't want a hologram, Minion. I want you."

Minion looked like he was either going to faint or leap for joy. "Really?"

Rachel nodded and smiled warmly.

"Why?"

Then she rolled her eyes. "Because I'm crazy for you, you silly fish!"

Normally, in moments like this, the woman would kiss him passionately, but under the circumstances, she simply flung her arms around his robotic body in a sweet embrace. It took a few moments for his metal arms to respond and hug her back. Roxanne sighed at seeing her sister happy again at last.

"You're not freaked out by this, are you?" Minion asked the reporter, noticing her expression.

"She's known," Rachel whispered.

He still had trouble understanding this.

"By the way," his new girlfriend said, "about these powers, can I fly too?"

Sure enough, she floated off the bed. Laughing, she did a few spins around the room. Minion smiled with pride. Gosh, she's amazing.

"This is awesome! Ooh, I've always wanted to try this!"

She sat back down cross-legged and held her hands out in a guru position. She let out a hum and lifted herself into the air. Megamind clapped again. Rachel floated down and everyone looked at him strangely.

"Glad it's sorted out between the two of you," he said. "I'll admit I find it a bit odd, but congratulations anyway! Hmm, I never thought I'd have to add a woman to my team, but with you on our side, Miss Ritchi, we can finally rid the world of Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes!"

"Excuse me?" Rachel questioned.

"Sir, you can't possibly!" Minion exclaimed.

"She has Metro Man's powers, Minion! She's the only one who can possibly injure him, or even better, destroy him!"

"Oh no you don't!" Roxanne shouted, poking him in the chest. "You are not using my sister in your plot to destroy Metro Man!"

Megamind scowled. "She's romantically involved with my Minion. What do you expect me to do with her?"

"What's the matter with you? I thought you said you didn't want to be the villain anymore!"

"I don't! But I can't stay in hiding or change my ways as long as Metro Man is alive!"

"Well, fine! Continue scheming for all I care, but you are not turning my little sister into a killing machine! In fact, I'm not even letting her keep these powers! Change her back now!"

"I can't! Because you shot the capsule down her throat, instead of up her nose, I can't retrieve it!"

"Then forget the stupid gun and think of some other way!"

Rachel crossed her arms. "Hey, don't I get any say in this?"

"No!" the pair shouted at the same time.

"She is not keeping these powers!" Roxanne said again.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Megamind demanded angrily. "You're just a stupid, crabby, nosey human reporter!"

Hurt welled up in Roxanne's face. The alien deflated. What was he doing? He had never raised his voice at her like that before, nor had he ever said anything so cruel.

"Roxanne," he said softly, "I didn't mean…"

She held her hand up. "I don't want to hear it."

He felt a pain of guilt at the broken tone of her voice. He watched as she stormed out of the room.

"Roxanne!" Megamind called desperately, chasing after her. "I didn't mean it! I didn't mean any of it!"

She spun around as he grabbed her shoulder.

"Why don't you just leave me alone?" she spat at him angrily. "You think you can do whatever you like, huh? First you kidnap me on countless occasions, then you actually get me to care about you only so you can break my heart afterwards, then you infuse my sister with super powers and then decide to use her against Metro Man! Why are you so…so…evil?"

Every word that escaped from her lips pierced his heart like a sword, the last one especially. She had called him evil several times, but never before had she said it so furiously.

"I never meant to hurt you, Roxanne," he muttered, looking up at her with pleading eyes.

Roxanne could barely focus with the look he gave her. It was filled with pain and sadness. She could hardly believe that someone so evil could nail a look like that. But she shook her head.

"Well, you have!" she snapped.

As they had been arguing, Rachel and Minion had stepped out of the bedroom. The latter had his hands on his hips.

"That's it, sir!" he shouted.

Megamind turned to him. "Minion, stay out of this!"

"No, sir. Not this time. For years I've been putting up with your evil plans and you blaming me for everything I do! But you know what? I never said anything, but I'll be silent no more! I've had it with your plotting and scheming! When are you going to realize that there are more important things? My soul purpose in life may be to look after you, but since I apparently make a mess of everything, you don't need me for that!"

His boss looked at him in shock. "What are you saying, Minion?"

"Let me make it clear. Code: You Don't Need Me!"

"Oh? Well, you know what? Code: I Don't Care!"

Minion went off to the side and grabbed a can of fish flakes and chucked it into a tin lunch box. He continued to shout at his former master.

"Code: I'm Just Going to Pack My Thing and Go!"

Megamind crossed his arms. "Code: Fine!"

"Code: Fine Back!"

He was about to get on some sort of scooter when Rachel cried out, "Minion, wait! I'm coming with you!"

Roxanne gasped and grabbed her sister's arm. "Rachel, what do you think you're doing?"

Rachel wrenched her arm away with ease and stuck out her chest. "I'm following my heart. But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you, sis?"

"Rach, this is crazy! You have no place to go!"

"Minion and I will figure it out."

"No, I won't allow it!"

"Roxie, I'm putting my foot down!" As she did, the whole Lair shook. "I am not a little girl anymore and you are not Mom! You can't make decisions for me! I'm twenty-five years old now! And hey, guess what? I've got super powers! Minion and I will be fine without you. Both of you!"

She proudly took her beau's hand. "Just because you're too stupid to realize what you want, sis, doesn't mean you can take away what I want! Minion and I don't need either of you!"

Using her newfound strength, she lifted Minion into the air.

"Well, who needs you, then?" Megamind called. "Good luck in your lives together!"

"We will!" Minion exclaimed.

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Roxanne argued.

"We know!" Rachel finished.

And the two of them flew out of sight, leaving the remaining pair to sulk. Megamind scowled at the reporter.

"Now look what you've done!"

Roxanne gaped. "What I've done? Don't you dare try and make this my fault again!"

"Oh, but it is! If you hadn't given Minion your sister's email address, he wouldn't have fallen for her!"

"I never wanted my little sister to be a part of any of this! If you hadn't kidnapped Rachel, they wouldn't have met in the first place!"

"That was Minion's doing! Besides, you were the one who encouraged their relationship instead of stopping it!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have announced that you were going to use Rachel as a pawn!"

"I wouldn't have gotten that idea if you hadn't infused her with Metro Man's powers!"

"That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't built that gun!"

"And we're back to this again!"

Roxanne clenched her fists. "They wouldn't have gotten mad if you had treated Minion better!"

"Oh ho, Miss Ritchi, need I remind you that I'm not the only one they're angry at?"

"So it's Miss Ritchi this time, huh?"

"You bet!" Megamind then smirked and slowly turned away. "You can also bet that your sister wouldn't have run off if you hadn't acted like a mother to her."

She gritted her teeth. "Oh, you so did not just go there."

"I so did."

"Well, if I seem to cause so much trouble, then I'll just leave!"

He still had his back to her. "Fine, go then! See if I care!"

"Goodbye, Megamind!"

"Goodbye, Miss Ritchi! And good riddance!"

She turned back, her eyes glaring. "I never want to see you again."

He listened as her footsteps faded away and the front door slammed behind her. Megamind's shoulders slumped as he realized what he had done. He had lost his best friend and the girl of his dreams all in less than an hour. This was the fate of every villain, to be alone.