Chapter 18

Minion put the latest blue cube into the shoe box marked 'living room.' Roxanne had decided that since Megamind wasn't around that she would officially move all her belongings into the lair. Minion had offered to help her and she was glad for the company. Also, she wasn't sure if Hal was still in jail or if he was out on bond or something. She just felt safer knowing that Minion was nearby.

She shot her bookcase with her new de-gun and it and the nearby desk shrunk to another blue cube. Yes! She was getting better at this ray gun stuff.

"Good shot, Ma'am! Very nice grouping," Minion encouraged.

She gave him a wide smile and said, "Thanks! This is the absolute best way to move!"

"It does come in handy," he admitted with a grin as he added the latest cube to his shoe box.

She had just lined up to shoot at her couch when there was a knock on the balcony door. They both shot each other a startled look. Megamind wasn't supposed to escape until tomorrow night. She checked her Megamind-sensor for a second then her eyes widened. He was still far away. Only one other person would be on her balcony. She tucked her de-gun into her pants waistband at the small of her back and mouthed at Minion, 'Not him. Watch!' and pointed at her wrist. He quickly twisted the dial of the watch and his image morphed into that of Joel, the tan, dark-haired guy he'd picked to wear to go on vacation. Then he quietly ducked into her downstairs bathroom.

Once he was disguised, and her shirt was untucked to cover the potential bulge of her ray gun, she said, "I'm coming," before she opened the blinds. Sure enough, it was Wayne in his heroing outfit. She slid the balcony door open and greeted, "Hey, Wayne. What's up?"

"Hey, Roxie. I was just checking on… whoa. Where's all your stuff?" Wayne asked. She purposely stood in the open doorway so he wouldn't wander inside like he had a habit of doing.

"My lease is almost up and I haven't found a job yet. I'm moving," she informed him with a shrug.

"Geeze, Roxie. If money is that tight, I could help you out. You know I don't mind," he told her consolingly.

She rolled her eyes and reminded him, "I can't take your money, Wayne. We 'broke up,' remember? Besides, I'm moving in with friends, so it'll be good for me."

"Megan?" he asked knowingly, and she felt herself blush.

She looked away and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before answering, "And her roommate, yeah." She realized she was looking wistfully in the direction of the prison where Megamind was currently housed and forced her eyes back to Wayne.

He gave her a genuine smile and said, "Wow. You've got it bad, Roxie. You better hold on to her. I've never seen you like this."

She leaned against the doorframe and admitted, "Oh, I am. I am holding on tight, and I don't think I'll ever let go," she sighed and let her gaze drift prison-ward again.

"You'd better not. You seem happy. It's been a while, I think," he told her.

She considered it. She had been in kind of a rut before she got fired. And all the events that led her here made her realize that. She hadn't really been happy for years, but lately, she couldn't stop smiling. "I think you're right, Wayne," she admitted with a fond smile. "It has been a while. But since we started dating, it's just been great. I'm going to marry that troublemaker someday."

She heard a small gasp from Minion, and Wayne was all smiles as he said, "That's great, Roxie! I better be invited to the wedding!" He gave her a knowing look and asked, "Does she know this?"

She couldn't help but laugh and admit, "Not yet, I don't think. I don't want to push him. Her! I don't want to push her." Crap. Please just think it was a slip of the tongue…

All he did was squint at her, but she kept smiling. Finally, he brushed it off and said, "So, I didn't get a chance to talk to you last night. Are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he? He doesn't usually move you around with his machines like that."

She rolled her eyes again and scolded, "Of course he didn't hurt me! He never does! I don't know why it's so hard for you to understand that I'm safe with him." And, they're back to their old arguments again. Great. He's not going to be easy to convince that she's dating Megamind of her own free will when the time comes.

"Because he's a villain and he kidnaps you. A lot!" he argues back.

She snapped back, "Well, for your information, he was saving me last night. Hal kidnapped me. The guy you did let go! I pressed charges, and I'd really appreciate it if you'd help keep that creep away from me. I put up with more than I should've when he was my cameraman, but now that he's not, I don't want him near me. That's one of the main reasons I'm moving, so he can't find me."

"Wait. What? Why didn't you say anything? I would've let the little guy go," Wayne asked. "And how did he know you needed help? I didn't hear you call."

"I wanted to say something, but he wouldn't let me," she admitted. "And when you showed up, he felt like he had to fight you, I guess. Surely you noticed there wasn't a plot and the banter was stock at best. No death traps, no using me as bait. Heck, I wasn't even tied up! And I don't know how he found me, but I'm glad he did. He showed up before I had a chance to call for you."

"Aww, gee. Now I feel bad for hauling him off," Wayne said and drifted just a little closer to the ground.

"Yeah. Me too," she agreed as her gaze drifted towards Megamind's direction again.

"Well, since I'm here, do you need any help packing?" he offered.

"Naw, I got it," she replied dismissively, hoping that he would leave.

"You shouldn't be doing it all yourself," he chided.

"Oh, I'm not. Megan's roommate is helping me out while she is gone visiting family," she said while still trying to be truthful. Please go away now, thank you. "Shouldn't you be out finding a new girlfriend? Go rom-com somebody. You're not going to find that at your ex's apartment. Shoo, Wayne. You're like a gnat. Just flying around bothering me."

He laughed and flew back a little and said, "Ok, ok. I'm going. Call me if you need anything."

"Yeah, yeah. Get out of here gnat-boy. I'm busy," she made shooing motions with her hands. He gave her a mocking salute and then was gone.

She closed the door and shut the blinds before saying, "Ok, you can come out now."

Minion, still in disguise, leaned out of the bathroom before stepping over to her and deactivating his watch. "Did you mean it?" he asked excitedly. "Do you really want to marry Sir?"

"I really think I do," she admitted to her henchfish. "But I want to tell him, ok? If you want to start getting a dress ready, well then, I can't stop you."

Suddenly she was lifted off her feet and was being spun around in the robotic arms of Minion's gorilla suit. He put her down then clasped his hands in front of him and said excitedly, "You want me to make your dress? Really?!"

She laughed at how excited he was and said, "Absolutely. I've seen the outfits you make for Megamind. You're incredibly talented. It would be an honor if you'd like to make my wedding dress for me."

"Oh! Ma'am! I- you- I- Yes! Oh, absolutely yes! And thank you! Very much so!" he excitedly stumbled over his words.

She laughed again and said, "Well, let's finish up here so you can start on your sketches. I know your fins are just itching to draw something. Don't think I haven't seen some of your work left in the kitchen."

He fluttered his fins a few times and visibly calmed down before answering, "Sure thing, Ma'am. Shall we finish up the living room?"

Roxanne pulled the de-gun from her waistband and gave him a slightly feral grin, "Yes. Let's." She aimed at the couch again and pulled the trigger. The couch and both end tables flashed with a blue light, then shrunk down to a small blue cube.

Before she could enthuse some more about her very own ray gun, Minion interrupted her thoughts and asked, "Is that a comfortable place for you? I can make a holster if that's where you'd prefer to carry the gun."

"I-I dunno. I was just trying to hide it. I'm not sure it's good for a quick draw," she replied.

Minion picked up the cubed couch and said, "Well, realistically, we don't want you in any fire fights. But we want you to carry it in case you need it."

"What other options are there?" she asked as she shot her television and its stand.

He replied, "Just about anywhere you'd like to carry it, really. There's hidden in the waistband, of course. There's a shoulder harness, but you'd have to wear a jacket to hide it all the time and then you'd look like a cop. And I can see Sir stopping me on that one before I even cut the leather. Sir prefers a thigh harness, as you've seen. Or if you can think of something else, I can probably make it work,"

"Hmm," she thought about it before answering, "Could I get a waistband one and a thigh one? That way I can pick depending on what I'm wearing."

"Of course, Ma'am. Anything you want!" Minion chirped happily.

"Minion," she started and bit her lip worriedly. She'd just realized that he was helping her pack and that she had asked him to make her three things in the last few minutes. That was too much. He was looking at her expectantly, so she finally said, "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you and not pulling my weight. You've cooked everything since I've been at the lair. You've done my laundry before I could get to it. You made me this undersuit and I keep asking you for stuff. I'm sorry. You don't have to make the holsters. I'm sure I can find something online…"

Minion was squinting at her in confusion before his eyes popped open and he gave an, "Ahh," of realization. He crossed the room to her and gently took her hands in his massive robot ones. "Ma'am," he said seriously and waited until she looked up at him floating in his dome. "I am your minion, Ma'am. We're not bound as tightly as you and Sir, but we are bound together. It is my sole purpose in life to look after Sir and now you. I don't mind. I enjoy doing household tasks. I love to cook and make clothes. I'd like to think I make a good sounding board when either of you needs to talk about something. I am happy when you or Sir ask me to do, or make, something for you. It means you need me, and that means I'm doing my job. I want you to ask me for things. Understand?"

She swallowed and answered softly, "I-I think so."

He let go of her hands and gently lowered his dome until it was resting against her forehead, then he swam closer to the glass and touched his head to it so they were only separated by the glass. "I'm sorry if this is hard for you, but please don't ask me to not do things for you. I need to."

She lifted her hands and placed them on either side of Minion's dome like she'd seen Megamind do on the rare occasion she saw them like this and answered, "Ok. But if it's ever too much, you tell me."

He chuckled and said, "I've never been afraid to speak my mind, Ma'am. Don't worry." He pulled back and she let him go. "Right. Let's finish up then we can get back to Evil Lair."

She smiled and shot one of her potted plants to get back into the groove. At least she didn't feel as guilty anymore for having Minion do so much stuff for her lately.

"So, what do you normally do when Megamind is in jail?" she asked curiously as she shot her decorations off the wall one after another. She could've gathered them all in one neat pile, but the pew-pew target practice was fun.

He answered conversationally, "Oh, nothing major. I try to get some shopping done. If anything was lightly damaged in the previous plot, I try to fix it. Work on some of my own projects if I have any in progress. Sometimes Sir will have something specific for me to attend to, but not often."

He shot her a grin and asked, "And what did you do when we didn't have you tied to a kidnapping chair, Ma'am?"

She rolled her eyes at the teasing and said, "Work. Sleep, then back to work. There was some take-out in there too. I'm not a very fun person."

"Well, that's just not true," Minion chided her. "We wouldn't have gone out of our way to kidnap you so often if Sir didn't think you were fun."

"He thought I was dating Metro Man," she replied as she shot her dining set. "I was bait. My fun-ness, or lack thereof, had nothing to do with it."

"Well, that played a part in it, sure," Minion admitted but continued, "But if you weren't any fun, then you wouldn't have been so integral to so many plots."

She laughed helplessly and said, "You know if you would've told me that a month ago, I would've screamed."

"I don't know if 'in frustration,' really counts, Ma'am," he teased.

Her jaw dropped -mostly- playfully at his teasing and she playfully shoved him, knowing that she couldn't move the heavy suit and said, "Yes it does! Although it would've been followed by angry yelling. Maybe a kick in the shins for good measure."

He shrugged and gave her a sly look before saying, "Well, I think it all worked out. Since you're going to marry Sir."

She laughed and said, "That would have to slip out while I was talking to Wayne, wouldn't it? I do want to tell him before we announce our relationship publicly. I know you guys don't get along, but he's still my friend."

"Don't know how he has enough personality to make friends," Minion muttered under his breath, obviously thinking she wouldn't hear him.

"It's mostly an act," Roxanne replied anyway. "He's different when he's not 'on.'"

"I'll take your word for it," he grumbled as he put away the latest cubes into her collection.

She shrugged and let the subject drop. There was too much history there to dig any further at the moment. "Ok, bedroom and bath, then I think we're done. And I'm pretty sure most of the bathroom stuff is moved already."

They moved into the bedroom and she shot at the bed when Minion asked again, "So, what did you do for fun? You never answered."

She reiterated, "I really didn't do anything, Minion. Work kept me busy, plots took up some extra time, and then I was just here. There were some books here and some movies there, but nothing exciting. It was mostly work, or research for work."

"No wonder you and Sir get on like a house on fire. Now I've got two workaholics to deal with," Minion playfully groused.

"Megamind doesn't have any hobbies either?" she asked.

He blew some bubbles and said mockingly, "Why would I need to do something like that, Minion, when I can concentrate on making this laser more powerful?" He returned to his usual voice and said, "It's a wonder neither of you have suffered from burn-out more than you have."

"I probably have and just never realized it," Roxanne admitted. "You know, you just get into a groove…"

"Of going to work, sleep, then back to work with some take-out thrown in there too?" he finished for her. "Yes, I heard you the first time."

She stared at him in shock and just shook her head. "Wow. Yeah, ok. I hear it now," she admitted. "I wonder how long I've just been going through the motions."

Minion answered, "Probably longer than you realize. Your reporting never suffered – we watched all of your reports – but you need to have downtime. Even Metro Man said you seem happier now than you've been in a while."

"Well, I have a pretty amazing boyfriend and minion now, whereas I didn't before," she replied back. "Having a fake boyfriend didn't do me any favors. Well… except work ones."

"So, I know you're going to get some kind of journalist job when we get back. It's inevitable, really. Just when you do, make sure that's not all you do," Minion suggested.

She smirked teasingly at him and said, "I can double-down on the mammalian mating rituals with Megamind. Keep him out of trouble?"

He rolled his eyes with good humor and just said, "Mammals." He then shot her a teasing look back and asked sweetly, "So, you do want me to get a nursery ready?"

She laughed and pushed him again while saying, "Don't you dare. I'll tell you when and if that day comes." She thought about it a moment and said slyly, "Although… it'd be almost worth setting it up just to see Megamind's face." They traded a look, then both collapsed with laughter.

/\/\ - /\/\ - /\/\ - /\/\ - /\/\ - /\/\ -

Minion set his groceries into the backseat of the, currently visible, invisible car. He hoped he had enough supplies in the pantry to start on a cupcake campaign to see which flavors Ma'am would prefer for a wedding cake. Whenever that day came. Honestly, it would probably be sooner than either Ma'am or Sir expects if the formation of their mating bond was anything to go by. It hasn't even been a month! But they've known, and liked, each other for years, even if they didn't admit anything back then. So, he shouldn't be surprised. Just a little surprised that they finally got together.

"Hey! Fish!" a belligerent voice yelled from not too far away. Gee. Wonder who he's talking to. He straightened up to his suit's full height and pulled his de-gun from the compartment he normally kept it in.

He turned with the de-gun pointing at the man who yelled to get his attention, "Yes? Can I help you?" he asked flatly, making sure the gun was glowing ominously.

"Yeah, I think you can. I have a beef with your boss," he yelled back.

"So does a lot of Metrocity. What do you want?" Minion kept the de-gun steady, but the guy wasn't making any moves.

"We want to talk to him. And we think we know how to get his attention," the guy said smugly.

Minion's eyes widened as he realized he was in a trap. He dehydrated the guy that was talking and turned in his tank before the shot even fired off. He saw a baseball bat already in mid-swing, aiming for his dome. He only just started moving the suit when the bat connected and he saw stars. The dome didn't break – yet! – but he was stunned from the shockwave. Trying to shake it off and get neural control of his suit again, he only just managed to get it to stumble forward when the bat hit his dome again.

This time, he heard glass cracking. When he blinked his eyes clear, he noticed the water level was leaking out of his damaged dome. The bat came again, and the glass gave way. He fell through the air and landed roughly on the asphalt. He managed to twitch his fins to ensure they weren't injured, but that was all he could manage. The suit wouldn't work without him close to the neural receptors.

"Quick, get him and let's go," a different voice said.

Suddenly hands were roughly on him and he growled threateningly at his assailants.

"Watch the teeth!"

"Yeah, yeah," another voice muttered before Minion was dropped into a cooler filled with too cold, freshwater.

Then he could only hear a muffled sound as the men were talking, but not what was being said since he didn't have his speaker system any longer. And the cold water was too cold. And there was no salt! He needed to be in brackish water at this point in his cycle. Being left in freshwater too long could kill him!

He felt the cooler he was in get lifted and then dropped into the back of a vehicle. Someone said something over him – he couldn't hear what – and then they closed the lid.