Minion was repairing a body panel on the new hoverbike when Roxanne and Megamind made their way into the workroom the next morning. (Roxanne's latest flying lesson hadn't exactly been a success, and the small aircraft was worse for the wear. At least Megamind had grabbed her onto his own hoverbike just before the crash, or she might have had a few dents herself.)

"No news from the brainbots yet, sir," the fish was saying as his master settled down to review footage on the monitors. "The good news is that in an hour or two, we should be ready for final calibrations and a new flight test," he added, motioning to his task.

"Excellent work, Minion!"

"What do we do in the meantime?" Roxanne asked.

Megamind sighed. "This, unfortunately, is the most infuriating part of the job. We wait for police inquiries or the brainbots to turn something up."

"That's it? We just wait? It's been two days already! You know how important the first forty-two hours after an abduction are!"

The knowledge that the little girl, Olivia, might already be injured or worse by now hung unspoken between them.

Megamind sighed and rubbed his bald head. "I know. I'm afraid there's nothing else we can do. Without a lead on Ares' location and target, I have no way to plan my next move."

Roxanne was silent for a moment. "We could try to draw him out," she said slowly.

"How?"

"Well, he wants to hurt me, right?"

Megamind's look told he didn't like the direction she was taking, but he motioned for her to continue.

"What if I called work, and arranged to do a report somewhere? Something that would require me to be onsite for a while. You could hide nearby and—"

"Absolutely not. We are not using you as bait."

"Megamind—"

"No. Roxanne, I'm going to be honest: this is one of those rare issues on which I will push. I don't want to be a party to putting you in that kind of danger. Please," he added when she opened her mouth to argue. "What if something happened to you? Don't make me live with that."

"We have to do something!" she protested.

"I know, but… Not that. Please. Not unless we exhaust all other options. Give our sources and scouts a chance to find something first."

"You used me as bait for Metro Man all the time!"

"Metro Man didn't want to kill you."

She took a deep breath. "Okay, okay, but I hate being stuck here doing nothing."

"I understand, Sweetheart. Believe me. But I don't have any superpowers. I don't have invulnerability. What I do have is an immense intellect, and a gift for engineering both new technology and well-laid plans. I have to play to those strengths if I want to succeed, which means I don't have the option of running into a fight on pure emotion and hoping for the best. This is frustrating; I know it is, but it's what we have to do right now."

She hugged him. "You're right. You are, but—"

"I know," he said again, smiling in gentle empathy, and leaned his forehead against hers. "Me too, Roxanne. Me too."

She let herself soak in his presence for a moment. "Megamind?"

"Yes?"

"There is one source we haven't tapped yet. Do you mind if I give Andro a call?"

He kissed the top of her head. "I think that's a fantastic idea." He paused. "In fact, it's a brilliant idea— or half of one!" He whistled around his fingers and several brainbots flew to him. "You there," he pointed at one. "Prepare to make an audio recording!"

"So..." Andro was saying from a monitor ten minutes later, once Megamind had explained his plan. "You want to record Roxie and I talking?"

"Yes."

"And then play it back using some sort of new electronic thingy?"

"Yes!"

"So that this Scary-Ares guy thinks Roxanne is somewhere she's not and shows up?"

"Yes!" Megamind made a dramatic gesture. "Really, what part this didn't you understand the first time?"

"The part about how this fake conversation is going to be traceable if it's just a recording," answer Andro with slight annoyance.

"Oh, that. I'm going to ping it off of cellphone towers and satellites to create false coordinates, of course! I thought that was obvious!"

"We can't all be geniuses," Andro's warning tone was ruined by his sneaking grin. "Okay, great plan, but I want to be sure: are you planning to ping it off of my cell phone too?"

"No, no, I'll use a brainbot. That will minimize your risk. I wouldn't want Roxanne angry with me."

"She is pretty terrifying when she's angry."

"Hey!" Roxanne protested. "I'm right here!"

"Like, complete nightmare fuel," Andro grinned at his friend from the screen. "I would say: 'I am so glad you care,' but I know you. You wanted to play mousetrap in person, didn't you?"

Roxanne made a noise in her throat. "Of course I care! And why is everyone making such a big deal out of this?"

"Uh-huh," Andro looked back at Megamind. "Just so you know, Big M, she's got a seriously under-developed sense of self-preservation."

"Andro!"

"I'm aware."

"MEGAMIND!"

"Oooh! There's Nightmare Roxie!" laughed Andro. "And don't give me that look! It's true, Chica! I heard about that time when you were covering the Bakker Lake murders in '08, and–"

"Ugh, I had to get the story, Andro!"

"By going out into the woods by yourself with nothing but a digital camera and a flashlight? When they'd literally found the last victim still warm?" Andro looked back at Megamind. "Serious. Lack. Of self-preservation."

Roxanne crossed her arms. "Well, you know, maybe if I could have found something they would have actually caught the murderer!"

"Oh, he was caught, alright," Megamind assured her darkly.

Everything went still for a moment. "Roxie," Andro said at last. "Did your boyfriend just admit to killing the Bakker Lake Slayer?"

"Kill?" Megamind asked, all false innocence. "I never said 'kill.'"

"Okay, yeah, but he was never in police custody, so..." Andro let the statement hang in the air.

"I admit nothing," Megamind smiled like a hungry shark. "But if I had, I wouldn't regret it after what happened to that family."

"Huh," Andro touched his chin. "So even as a supervillain, you were a crusader for good?" It wasn't a question.

Megamind rolled his eyes. "Crusader is too strong a word. And honestly, did you think Metro Man," he said the name with derision, "was the one keeping crime rates in this city down? In case you never noticed, he only showed up when there was a chance to show off."

Roxanne gave her lover a warm smile. "Megamind has always been a good guy deep down."

"I was not! I was terrifyingly evil!"

"Megamind, you didn't even scare me."

"I wasn't trying to scare you. I was trying to impress you because, well…" Megamind cleared his throat. "Anyway, just because my abductions of you were always games, Miss Ritchi, does not mean I can't be," his tone deepened and his smile took on a predatory edge, "truly and genuinely scary when the need arises."

A thrill ran through Roxanne, gathering like throbbing heat in her core. Her body's reaction surprised her.

"I think… I'd like to see that," she admitted.

Megamind turned toward her and quirked a dangerously suggestive eyebrow. "Be careful what you wish for."

The throbbing low in Roxanne's body grew hotter, more insistent. Of course, she'd always gotten a delicious thrill out of waking up with her hands bound, Megamind facing her, and she'd always enjoyed flirting with him in those situations, but this was far more intense. The idea of Megamind being "truly and genuinely scary" was shockingly appealing.

"I do. Wish for that." At her lover's slightly dangerous look, she added: "Maybe just a little," she was disconcerted to hear how breathy and small her voice sounded.

His own voice dripped warm, dark honey as he leaned close and purred: "that can be arranged, Miss Ritchi."

"Uh, do you two need to get a room?" Andro asked.

Megamind looked over Roxanne's head at her friend's image. "Apologies." He motioned over the waiting brainbot. "Avoid naming any dates or days of the week. It may take a couple of days to design, produce, and test the new device. Don't argue, Sweetheart, I'll complete it as fast as I can, but it has to be done right. This is our chance, and we can't risk losing it because of a malfunction. I'll begin work immediately. Oh, I want you to mention that I'm hiding you in a place in the woods, and give these coordinates," he scribbled something on a piece of paper. "Tell Andro you need him to bring you some personal items or something. Don't mention any other specific locations. I don't want Ares to get any ideas. And Miss Ritchi?" his voice descended back into that toe-curling rumble. "Full disclosure: I intend to invade your privacy." He whirled, cloak swinging, and headed for the workroom. "Ciao!" He called, suddenly playful, as if his previous comment had been a dream.

"God, Roxie," Andro was wide-eyed. "Does he have a brother?"

"Um, no, I think... As far as we know, he is actually the last of his entire species."

"That is so painfully tragic in so many more ways than one."

"I know." Roxanne pushed a lock of hair back from her eyes. Focus. She had to focus. "We have a job to do." She looked at the brainbot and said: "You can start recording now," before turning back to Andro. "Roxanne Ritchi," she gave the greeting a quarter-turn of question.

Quick on the uptake, Andro instantly played along. "Holy shit, Roxie! You finally picked up your phone! Do you know how many messages I've left you?!"