a/n: Hiya! Short chapter, but I wanted to get this one posted. Little bit more fluff, lots more drama. There's a surprise in there for you, too! Tee hee!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Megamind other than my DVD, my soundtrack and my obsession! Nods to Dreamworks for this excellent addition to my collection.

Summary: Pre-movie AU. Something goes horribly wrong with one of Megamind's battle suits and he and Roxanne wind up stranded in the middle of a desert with nothing but each other to aid in their survival. Will they make it?

Stranded

Chapter Twenty-six: The Date

When they departed the Lair, Megamind headed straight for the sky. Her grip around his waist tightened and she buried her head in his back. As he reached his desired altitude – approximately two thousand feet up - he leveled off and cruised at a more reasonable speed. This distance was usually out of the stalking zone of Mr. Goodie-two-shoes. He flew the bike to the spot he usually went to when he needed time to clear his head. He liked to fly higher than the top of Metro Tower just because he could. He flipped a switch and suddenly, the bike was completely silent.

Roxanne gasped and opened her eyes, then realized that they were standing completely still, hovering very high above the tallest building in the city. She could see it below them in the distance. Everything looked so surreal from this height and she would have been scared were it not for the man she was clinging to. "I didn't think this place really qualified as 'going somewhere' since we stay on the bike. Would you permit me to do something, Roxanne? You would need to trust me." As if he had to ask.

"I thought we were past that. You know I trust you. What is it you want to do?"

"I want to bring you around in front of me." Roxanne wasn't one who was generally afraid of heights, having never really had a bad experience with them that she could recall, but the thought of moving at all from her current position on the bike at this height was dizzying. "I'll make sure you don't fall. Just keep your eyes on me and don't look down."

She liked that idea and affixed her gaze to the side of his turned face. "Okay, so what do I need to do?" He grinned and turned his torso around so he was almost facing her, still securely wrapped in her arms. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward a little. She felt safer instantly.

"I need you to lean forward, but keep your arms around me, and move your left leg around front so you kind of slide around me. I'll help you along." She nodded and picked her leg up slowly, wrapping it around his lower waist, and then began to scoot herself around his left side. Her eyes sought his out as soon as she could see them. He helped her along and soon she was sitting astride the bike backwards, her legs draped over his, their faces mere inches apart. The generous saddle of the hoverbike in addition to the lack of bulk of the driver enabled them to both fit in the seat comfortably.

They locked eyes for a moment before she said, "That was not scary at all."

"You're braver than you realize. It's one of the things I've always admired about you. You were never intimidated by me no matter how hard I tried, you handle your own with Metro Mahn, and countless other hard characters you've interviewed. And then, of course, there is your most recent decision, regarding your feelings for me."

"What do you mean? All I did was admit feelings I've been ignoring for years. That's not so brave, especially when I had already pretty much figured out that you shared them."

"But, being with me, despite everything I have put you through in our past - that is brave."

"Not really," she downplayed, "I know now that's not who you really are. Although I think I always knew deep down."

"And, then you have to know some people are going to be upset by us being together. That is going to cause you problems in your professional life," he reminded her of the one part of this whole equation to which she'd given the least amount of thought. Then she realized she absolutely did not care at all what anyone else thought about her life. It was a strange realization for someone who had spent most of her adult life cultivating a public image for the sake of the long-desired job she had at one time believed to be everything she'd wanted out of life.

"You know, I hadn't really thought about that part of this, but to tell you the truth, I couldn't care less about what anyone else thinks."

"That's why you are brave. No one has ever decided to just throw caution the wind to be my friend like you are doing. And then you actually want to be with me. Some people who have known me my whole life I consider acquaintances because they know more than most about me, but you actually took the time and got to know who I am on the inside, and it doesn't seem to scare you."

"That's because 'who you are' is a wonderful person. Once you drop the pretense of being a villain and just let yourself be who you are, there is a remarkably passionate, talented, intelligent, desirable person in there. You just never had the chance to let someone get to know the real you. I am glad I was blessed with the opportunity." She was quiet for a moment and looked toward the horizon, seeing the setting sun already halfway sunk. He turned to look with her. The colors of the clouds around the sunset were all shades of orange, pink, red and purple, fading into the darkening blue of the sky above. It was absolutely breathtaking, and more-so now that she had found someone to share it with. This was someone she wouldn't ever let go; couldn't, really.

"You know, it would be braver of me to decide to just be your friend for the sakes of both of our lives. I know people are not going to be happy and they are probably going to get stupid about it, which usually means unfortunate violence. I mean, look at human history, even with just interracial marriage within same species, people have a problem with it. It's so stupid. But, I just can't let you go. It would make things easier on both of us, but I just can't. I need you too much. That's not brave."

He interrupted her thought, "So, uh, inter-species marriage. Is that something you would be interested in?"

That caught her off guard, but not unpleasantly so. She was never going to let him go and she already loved him more than any man she'd ever known, so not only did it make sense for them to get married, it just seemed right. "Yes."

"Well then. Dear, sweet, witty, fun, sassy, smart, lovely woman I love. You have brought new meaning into my life and I can no longer imagine any life without you. I thank whatever remarkable twist of fate that put you in my life for the opportunity to ask you this question. Roxanne, would you make me the happiest almost-man on this planet and become my wife?"

"Well, I hope I'll make you the happiest man on the planet, because yes, I will! But only if that means you become my husband, Naren," she said with a wink. He actually hadn't thought of himself as her husband yet and he smiled widely at the idea. He moved his lips toward hers to capture them in a tender kiss.

"Don't worry, Roxie, I am here to save you!" a most unwelcome voice intruded on their private moment. Roxanne had to wonder if he'd listened to their conversation before interrupting.

"What do you want?" Roxanne said with her voice dripping in annoyance which was not all hers, but felt just the same. Megamind's infuriation at being interrupted at what should have been a time of romantic bliss was palpable.

"What scheme have you cooked up this time, Megamind?" Metro Man continued, as if Roxanne hadn't asked him a question.

"Minding my own business, actually. You should do the same," the blue alien said through gritted teeth, his arms still wrapped securely around his fiancée.

"Roxie, what is going on here?" The white and gold clad hero looked angry and confused. He probably had heard all of their conversation, then.

"It's none of your business, Wayne," she said defensively, and then added, "but if you must know, I am not here against my will."

"Then why are you here?"

Megamind spoke first, although he didn't take his eyes off of Roxanne's. "Not that it is any business of yours, Metro Jerk, but Roxanne and I have come to a new understanding in our relationship which will eliminate the need for your involvement."

He itched to do something about the way the fiend was holding his friend, but she was not asking for his help, so he was confused into indecision, and finally opted for inaction and inquisition. "Roxie, what's he talking about?"

"No, Wayne. You ask yourself the obvious question, because I know you heard what we were talking about just before you got here. Ask yourself, 'Why would Roxanne want rescuing from her fiancé?' I know you heard me say yes to him."

"But Roxie, why are you marrying him? You were only gone for five days! What could possibly have happened in so short a time?" The hero dared not believe that she had actually fallen in love with Megamind.

She looked at her long-time friend with all seriousness and said simply, "I just got to know him." She wanted the hero gone so they could resume their activities, but he didn't seem to believe her. He floated closer to the bike than he had before and reached out for her.

"Don't you dare touch her," the snarl escaped his throat before she could stop him. She reassured him in her thoughts that she had no intention of going with the hero in an attempt to calm him down.

"Wayne, please just go. I told you, I am not here against my will. I love him and I am marrying him, end of story as far as you are concerned."

"He's still an escaped fugitive, Roxie. I should take him back to jail just for that."

"We both know I would escape again. I wouldn't stay in when I was just trying to get rid of you and I won't stay in there now that I have a real reason to want to be out," he sighed. "Look, if it's any consolation, old friend, I have no intention of terrorizing Metrocity any longer. I'll even leave you alone if you'll do me the same courtesy."

"Please, Wayne."

He considered what the blue man had said and thought about how nice it would be to have a break from the constant battles with him. "All right, little buddy, I guess I can give you a chance to stay out of prison if you behave. Roxie are you sure you know what you are doing? I mean, he is still a villain."

"Not really." The hero looked completely confused and stared back and forth between the two of them for a moment before he turned and took off. He could tell that he was not going to get anywhere with her with Megamind right there, so he decided to cut his losses and try to talk to her later. They both thought that it wouldn't be the last they'd heard from the hero on the subject.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would have," she said as she returned her gaze to the star-struck eyes of her beloved.

"I can't believe you did that," he said, "that you just told him we are engaged."

"He had heard our conversation, I knew he had. I just didn't want him thinking I was coerced."

"I see."

"Besides, I don't want to keep us a secret, even if it would be smarter. I am much too happy to keep be able to keep this inside." Lost as she was in the moment with him, she forgot temporarily that they were floating thousands of feet in the air. She unwrapped her arms from his waist and moved them to his shoulders, pulling his face to hers and capturing his lips in the kiss that had been interrupted. It seemed as if Fate herself did not want to let them alone because mere moments after they began to enjoy their kiss, Roxanne's cell phone rang. She'd forgotten she even had the damned thing. She sighed and pulled away enough to reach into her pocket and retrieve the noisy device. She briefly thought about dropping it, but decided to actually answer the call when she saw who it was. She'd been expecting to hear from this person much sooner than this, but better late than never. Her sister could be a little out of touch at times, so maybe she hadn't been worried for the entire week like everyone else seemed to have been. She flipped open the device, placed it against her ear and then leaned herself into his chest so he could hold her as she talked. The wind made it hard to hear so she had to press the phone into her ear.

"Hey, Ryan," she said softly. She felt the muscles in his arms tense as she said the name. She reminded him it was her sister and he seemed to relax. Silly spaceman.

"Hey, sis! I heard you were gone for a while, but you're back and apparently you have something you need to tell me about, don't you? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am fine. I've been back in town since last night. And, yes, I do have something to tell you."

"Okay, shoot! It better be good, too." She laughed at her kid sister's tendency to skip over the drama and go straight for the goal in a conversation.

"Well, do you remember how you always used to tease me about being kidnapped every week?"

"Yeah, where are you going with this, Roxie?" Why did no one else pick up on the fact that she called herself Roxanne? No one besides Naren anyway; he'd always used her whole name. She gave him a squeeze and he returned the gesture before she remembered she was talking to someone on the phone.

"Oh, yeah. Well, I have some big news. I am getting married." Well, that makes two people who know now.

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" the younger Ritchi squealed into the phone. Roxanne pulled it away from her ear momentarily. Then her sister said, "Wait! Who are you marrying?"

She thought about telling her sister his real name instead of the stage name and letting the first impression be one in person. He seemed to like the idea of meeting his future sister-in-law with no pretenses, despite the necessity of telling the woman his name and agreed that her idea was a good one, since she was his future sister-in-law. "His name is Naren Aakil and he is who I've been with for the last week. We fell in love and we are getting married. You'll have to come meet him sometime."

"Oh, absolutely, sis! I wouldn't miss it! But, what does this have to do with the kidnappings."

"Oh, uh, he put a stop to them for me."

"So, no more Megamind, then, huh?"

"He'll still be around, I'm sure."

"So, are you with this Naren guy now? Can I talk to him?" Ryan was insistent and she thought about saying no to her but he took the phone out of her hand and pressed it to his ear.

"Good Evening, Miss" he said in his suave voice that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She smiled and snuggled further into his chest.

He listened to the woman on the other end with amusement as he understood that she had no idea who she was actually talking to. "So, uh, Naren, right? You can call me Ryan. I understand you swept my sister off her feet this week. Going to marry her so suddenly, eh?"

"That is the plan. And, I have known your sister for quite some time, actually."

"Really? I've never heard her mention your name," the young woman shot back.

"I am not surprised. We've only really been acquaintances until recently. And perhaps she has mentioned me before, and you just didn't know it was me she was talking about," he said.

"Well, we'll just have to meet so I can pass along my blessing."

"Certainly, Miss Ryan. I am going to give the phone back to Roxanne now. It was a pleasure speaking with you." He handed the phone back to Roxanne and replaced his arm around her waist, hugging her close as she finished her conversation.

"Well, he certainly is polite. That's a change from the bozos you usually date. Sexy phone voice too. Can I see you soon, sis? I want to meet this guy. And you are so going to have to tell me why there are pictures of you and Megamind all over the internet."

"Okay, Ry. I'll call you tomorrow so we can meet you somewhere. Wait. What pictures of me and Megamind?"

"There's several different but the same pictures of you riding on the back of some kind of jetbike and you are clinging to the blue guy like he's the last man alive. The video shows you kissing him pretty convincingly. I was beginning to worry about you, Sis." Roxanne felt like she was going to be sick. Somehow, someone had gotten pictures and video of her and her love leaving her apartment earlier that day.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Good night, Ryan."

"Night, Roxie." Roxanne closed the phone and pushed it back inside her pocket before returning her arm to its former position around his back.

"There are pictures of us on the internet. Leaving my apartment earlier today."

"Oh really? Well, I guess we'd better check in with Minion. I wonder why he hasn't contacted us." He felt blindly for the watch on his wrist and found nothing there. "Well that explains it. I must have left my watch at home."

"You never have that thing when you need it," she teased him. He laughed out loud and flipped a switch that apparently turned off the hovering mechanism because she suddenly felt herself falling. Her breath caught in her throat.

He grinned and said into her ear as he released her back to hold the handle bars of the bike, "Hold on, my dear." He revved the engine and they shot off toward the lake warehouse area where the Lair was located. Her grip on him tightened and she wrapped both of her legs around his waist in addition to the arms she still had snaked around his shoulders. He descended to a height below the average building in the area when they neared the building he called home and coasted in through the secret entrance the same as they had earlier. She didn't gasp this time because she knew the hologram was there. And she hadn't been looking when they'd gone through. He parked the bike and slid off, still holding Roxanne to him. She unwound her legs from him and placed her feet on the ground before she released his shoulders. He let her go and took her hand as he headed for the bank of monitors they used to keep track of local news and current events of the world with interest.

"Minion!"

"Sir, I am so glad you are home safely."

"We heard there are some pictures of us online," Roxanne said.

"I'm afraid it's more than that, Miss Ritchi." He handed her the paper he'd printed for her and gave his blue friend a significant look.

She took the paper in her hand and read the press release from her former employer with a blank expression on her face. Once she was done, she dropped it on the floor. Megamind picked it up and read the thing, and he could not believe his eyes.

PRESS RELEASE

Scott Broadcasting Company
KMCP Network - KMCP 8 News

Re: Former Employee Roxanne Ritchi

Scott Broadcasting and KMCP are saddened to report the termination of employment of a recognizable face on our KMCP 8 News program. While her years of valuable service have been commendable, recent events have led the Station and its parent company to make difficult decisions regarding our future relationship with Miss Ritchi. Her employment was terminated due to a violation of company policy which has absolutely no relation to the recently published pictures, and occurred prior to the event depicted. This Network and our News Station shall offer no further comment on the subject and we respectfully request that no further violence be enacted upon current employees or property of KMCP. Please be advised that any violations of State and Local laws perpetrated against persons or property affiliated with this station will be persecuted to the fullest extent the law allows.

He looked at her with sadness in his gorgeous green eyes, and she said, "They only did that to cover their own butts," she laughed mirthlessly.

"There is more," Minion said quietly.

"More?" she said with disbelief. How could there be more? Did people really care that much about who she was with? Minion pressed a button on the control panel and the screens filled with articles and pictures with angry comments that she couldn't stop herself from reading. She could feel her anger growing as she read, right along side of his as he was engrossed in the same rants and rambles as she was. The people of the city had completely turned on her. Sure there were one or two posts here and there that were in defense of their right to exist and be together, but the vast majority was negative posts and some were angry and even downright ugly, threatening violence if they were ever spotted on the street.

He had known that people would resist the idea and potentially be very angry that he was with Roxanne in such a way. When they found out she was marrying him, they would surely react even more violently. He was used to being treated poorly by most people, and this was no exception, except that he had more to lose this time. Suddenly protecting his newly enlarged family became the only priority he had. Everything else seemed secondary.