The adrenaline carried Roxanne about a block towards her apartment before her arms could no longer take the stress. She sank into a snowdrift beside the nearest building, ignoring the cold that seeped through her crisp black jeans. Megamind jolted in her arms as her grip nearly gave out, but showed no signs of waking up.

Sitting against the wall, Roxanne shifted her sleeping passenger so he was sprawled over her lap with his head resting on her shoulder. There was only one block left; she might be able to make it if she was willing to carry him like a sack of potatoes, but she wasn't. She refused to risk making his injuries worse.

There weren't a lot of options she could think of. She could rest her arms until she was ready to go another block, but she didn't know how badly the cold would affect him. And it was likely that they'd be pursued once the people in the square got over their confusion. Technically, calling Hal was an option, but- Never mind. No it wasn't. Was there anyone she could call who would respect her judgement and be willing to help?

Megamind whimpered into her ear. With his chest against hers, she could feel his steady breathing. That, and her practice keeping composed in front of crowds, were the only things saving her from total panic. The arm holding him up against her trembled a bit. She was going to get him help, even if she had to fight everyone in the city on the way.

He sighed and stirred.

Megamind was running, trying to dehydrate his attackers, but the snow kept rehydrating them; when he fell, they were on him in an instant. He sheathed his de-gun, tried to stand, but something hard and cold hit his head and he went down again, again, again- until Minion showed up to save him, and

Suddenly, he was facing a wall. Was he back in the Lair? He was still being held, his head now on Minion's shoulder and brushing against soft hair. Making a choked sobbing noise, Megamind reached up to wrap his arms around Minion's tank.

Wait. Minion's hair was on his shoulders. Whoever this was, they had hair on their head. That wasn't right. Releasing them as quickly as he had embraced them, he fell backwards and fumbled at his belt for his de-gun, drawing it and aiming it shakily at the blurry figure advancing towards him. He could do this, he just had to banter, just had to hide his weakness until he could get away.

It would be an understatement to say Roxanne was surprised when Megamind threw his arms around her neck and practically cried into her ear. She'd seen him beaten up time and time again, but he always stayed strong, confident through it all. There was the occasional fit of hysterics when his latest deathtrap failed to impress her, of course, but this was something entirely new.

Before she had finished processing this, he let go again, falling flat onto his back and lying there on the pavement. She let out a low cry of surprise and dismay, jolting forwards to help him up, to wrap her jacket around his still-bleeding head and tell him to take it easy.

He had his gun out and pointed right at her, though he was shaking too badly to keep it completely still.

Roxanne stopped, holding up her hands. "Megamind?"

"Yes, it's me!" he said clearly, looking straight at her left ear. "I have broken into the- uh, what was it- the Metrocity Center of Art, and soon I will, uh, I'll, Metrocity will be mine!"

His finger rested very near the trigger, but not on it. Shuffling on her knees, Roxanne moved slowly towards him. "Megamind. I'm not going to hurt you. It's me, Roxanne, see?"

He scooted backwards and clumsily attempted to sit up, still holding the gun with his free hand and propping himself on the other. "Not going to-" He squinted at her, then his eyes widened and he emitted a range of startled squeaking noises. "Miss Ritchi?"

"Yes," she said firmly, relieved. "Do you think you can walk if I help you? We really need to get inside before the mob comes after us."

"But why- I don't-" His face displayed utter bewilderment. "Are you trying to kidnap me?"

Roxanne's face twisted into something like pain. Did he really think that was the most logical reason she'd offer to help? He did have a concussion, she reminded herself, surely that was why. "That's kind of your thing, Megamind," she remarked with the snarkiness she normally addressed him with. She noticed he'd lowered the gun; it was resting in his lap. "Look, we can talk about this once we're inside, but since your machine is wrecked you don't have a lot of options right now. Just let me help." She extended a hand to him, standing.

He stared up at her blankly, seemingly processing. The look of confusion didn't leave his face, but he reached up and took her hand, slipping his gun back into his belt loop.

With his gloved hand in hers, she pulled him to his feet, throwing an arm around his waist when he swayed. She felt him tense up where she touched him. That was reasonable, of course; they weren't friends, after all. It made sense he'd be uncomfortable touching her. Even during kidnappings, he almost always sent Minion to get her instead of doing it himself. She pushed back the bitterness that started to arise. She hadn't saved him because she'd thought they were friends, she'd saved him because he needed to be saved. And because no one else was going to do it.

Megamind was looking at her, his bright green eyes slightly unfocused. "Miss Ritchi?"

"I don't know where your Lair is and it's probably too far anyway, so I'm taking you to my place to get cleaned up." Roxanne kept her left arm around her waist and started walking. He put most of his weight onto her, and she couldn't help but glance up at the bruises and scrapes on his head. Oh, god. Quickly snapping her eyes forward, she pointed out the entrance to her building. "If we're lucky, we'll be able to get through the lobby without being seen. Be ready to move fast, though."

His breath sped up a little, but it was the resignation in his voice that was really scary, reminding her of the way he'd been in the crowd: small, unresisting. "I can't."

"Well, that's okay," she reassured him. "I can throw my jacket over your head and, uh- I'll pretend you're a filming prop, it'll be fine-"

"No, that's not- it's shool all over again-" and, to Roxanne's concern, he actually began to cry, breaths shaking and a few teardrops rolling down his cheeks.

She paused, not knowing what to say. "…If this is what school was like for you, it's too bad we didn't go to the same school."

He was still tense, but he relaxed somewhat into her arm and continued softly crying.

Looking both ways, Roxanne hurried them around the corner and up the steps of her apartment, opening the door by ramming into it with the side that Megamind wasn't attached to. The doorman looked up and his face filled with horror. He looked like he was about to shout for help.

Roxanne nipped that in the bud. "This is a medical emergency, Carlos, don't you dare call security," she said, words rapid. "He's in no condition to harm me even if he wanted to. Please don't tell anyone he's here."

Carlos hesitated, reaching towards the landline, but he dropped his hand with a sigh. "I guess I still owe you a favor. Just be careful, Miss Ritchi."

"Thanks, Carlos," she responded, guiding her stumbling supervillain into the elevator. "I promise I know what I'm doing."