A day later, after yet another grueling training session and relieving hot shower, Roxanne came downstairs to find Megamind in the workroom monitoring the patrols while he continued building their trap for Ares.

"We'll be ready by tonight," he promised. "I've called Simmons to have backup on standby."

Roxanne nodded and breathed deep. It was both exciting and frightening. Strangely, it was also a little sad. If Ares went to jail tonight, she would have no reason not to move back into her apartment tomorrow.

A little voice in her head whispered that she didn't have to. Not really.

The thought both elated and scared her. What would he say if she changed her mind? Would he be happy, or would it seem like she was inviting herself to take over his space? What if he had really only wanted her here because of Ares? Would asking to stay make things weird? Was she even completely sure it was what she wanted? Roxanne sighed inwardly. She didn't really have to make that choice right now… Maybe she could stay for just a few days more, and see how it went… or maybe just while Megamind was teaching her to fight. That would be so much easier than trying to get here before seven every morning, after all…

That same little voice snickered in her head. Excuses, excuses…

With a determined thought, Roxanne pushed it away. She had more important things to worry about, like surviving an encounter with a notorious killer and saving a seven-year-old child. Her personal problems would just have to wait.

"Roxanne?"

"Oh. I heard you. Sorry… Just mentally preparing, I guess."

"Are you afraid?"

"Yes, but I'm still going to help you."

He smiled. "Of course you are; you're one of the bravest people I know."

"Megamind, I literally just told you I was scared."

"Do you read Mark Twain?"

"What? Sometimes, why?"

"'Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear,'" he quoted. "'Not the absence of fear. Except a creature be part coward it is not a compliment to say it is brave; it is merely a loose misapplication of the word.' Someone incapable of being afraid isn't brave, Roxanne, only imbecilic and self-destructive. You can't have courage without fear. They're like daylight and dark: one doesn't exist without the other."

"Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?" she smiled.

He turned away from his work, leaning back against the table with his hands braced, a grin playing about his mouth. "Hmm. I think I could stand to hear it a few more times."

She kissed his forehead. "I love you." She pressed another kiss against the hard ridge of his high cheekbone. "I love you." She kissed the tip of his nose, his chin, and finally his lips. "I love you, I love you, I love you."

His smile had grown gentle, and the tips of his ears were pink. "I love you too." He touched his lips to hers once more before turning back to his work. At the moment the TeleDecoy, as he was currently calling it, looked mostly like a collection of wires, microchips, and the insides of Roxanne's phone. She'd hesitated only a heartbeat when he'd said he needed it; after all, if she was willing to risk herself, she could certainly risk her phone. Still, was a little embarrassed by how glad she felt he assured her it would still work.

"I could use a spoofer of sorts," he admitted. "But I'm worried that might not work as well. I don't want to risk any oddity in the trace that might tip him off. Ares is no match for my intellect, but he isn't stupid. Besides, I'm adding a function to reverse the operation, hiding this phone from detection rather than inviting it. That way you'll have your own phone again. I'll show you how to use that function when I'm done."

"No more video calls on the giant monitors, huh?" she half-joked.

He threw a grin over his shoulder. "You may use the monitors whenever you like. When you return to work, however, you'll need a more mobile communication method."

"The monitors would be a little difficult carry," she laughed.

"I could make you a smaller wireless version, something handheld," he offered without looking up, hands busy at his work.

She hugged him from behind and smiled against his shoulder. "You're sweet, but that's not necessary."

"Hmmm," he hummed in agreement, then stilled suddenly, a distant look on his face that she was starting to recognize. "Maybe a compact mirror that functions as a communications device? Making the screen behave as a reflective surface when inactive without compromising the fidelity of the video image… Now would be an interesting challenge! There are trick mirrors, of course, but they're always imperfect..."

"Megamind?"

"Yes?"

"Task at hand. New interesting problem later."

"Right," he seemed to pull himself back from somewhere far away. "Right, yes, of course."

"He's not coming," Roxanne whispered.

She was waiting with Megamind and Minion in the invisible car, watching an empty cabin north of town. Roxanne had been a little surprised that her lover even owned a such a place until she learned it was used as a safe house for smugglers who brought some of his supplies.

"You mean it used to be used by smugglers who used to bring some of your supplies?" Roxanne asked when he'd explained.

He'd shrugged. "If I'm paying them well to smuggle in regulated materials and military-grade technological components, then they're not somewhere else smuggling worse things for worse people."

"I should probably argue with you, but that makes too much sense," she'd shaken her head. "What does that say about me?"

"That you're practical and smart enough to see the big picture."

"It's still illegal, though."

"Life isn't always black and white, Roxanne. Sometimes the best we can do is choose the lightest shade of gray we can find."

So here they were, shivering in a chilly car, watching a dark building in an even darker forest. It had been well over an hour already– nearly two– and there was still no sign of their quarry. Even in her coat, Roxanne was cold, he breath fogging the air. She glanced at Megamind again– silent, watchful– and reminded herself that she should try to be the same. It wasn't as if she'd never endured dreary discomfort while chasing a story. This was no different. Not really. Unless…

"What if he never traced the call?" she asked in a whisper.

"Oh, he traced it. At least someone did, and I can think of no one else who would have a reason."

She nodded. Trust Megamind to have coded some sort of detection software into the device.

"Sir," hissed Minion. "Look!"

Something bright was casting eerie shadows through the trees. Roxanne turned in her seat for a better look. The light was moving in an odd motion– big smooth curves and small, sharp bounces. There was something oddly familiar about it.

"That's a car," she hissed.

A few moments later, she could indeed make out the twin gleams of headlights jolting up the uneven road. They waited what seemed like a breathless eternity as a pickup truck turned, slowed, and pulled up in front of the cabin. In the glow of the truck's interior lights, she could see that the man who climbed out wore a khaki green button-down shirt, a darker green coat with a logo stitched on the shoulder, and what she thought of as a "Smokey the Bear hat." The lights faded out before she could discern any more.

"Oh, no," she breathed. "What's he doing here? What if Ares shows up while he's still around?"

The man had gotten out a small flashlight and was keeping it carefully low as he slowly edged along the building.

"No," Megamind whispered back. "Minion, get ready," he glanced meaningfully at Roxanne. "We're outside the limits of the official state park. There aren't any Park Rangers here." He pressed something hard into her hand. "This is the first Dehydration Gun I ever made. It only has the one setting. We've got backup in the woods, but they may not be able to get here fast enough. I want you to hang back in the car until we need you. If Ares runs for the truck, shoot him. Don't think, just shoot. You're my best Plan B if Plan A goes awry, so keep the element of surprise as long as you can."

"Brainbots," he added into his watch. "Prepare the lights." He handed Minion a glowing blue cube and a bottle of water. "Remember the plan. If he breaks into the cabin, you blow the front door. I'll be waiting at the back when he runs," he clapped his friend's mechanical shoulder. "Be careful!"

"What, no big presentation?" Roxanne tried to make it a joke, but her voice shook a little.

"Oh, never fear. I'll give Ares a presentation he won't soon forget." He kissed her lightly. "I love you," then he was gone, his black clothing melding with the darkness. A moment later there was a blue light– Roxanne hoped it was hidden by the car's invisibility shield– and Minion, now an exact duplicate of his master, slipped away to circle the cabin in the other direction.

There were several breathless moments, and then, suddenly, the winter silence was split by the opening guitar riff of Judas Priest's Thunder Road. The darkness burst into blinding brilliance as scores of brainbots activated lights above the clearing. Exposed, Ares cringed at the corner of the cabin. Roxanne was pleased to see his right hand was still bandaged.

Megamind's voice boomed, echoing among the trees. "You dare to move against Megamind? In my own territory?" With a roar, the hoverbike appeared over the roof, carrying the dark hero. "Prepare to meet your doom!"

Ares had recovered quickly, and Roxanne noted disconcertingly that he didn't seem impressed.

"You've become a clown!" she heard him shout. "No more than another fool in a cape!"

Megamind dived at him, and Ares sprang to the side. The man suddenly had a gun in his hand– the injured hand didn't seem to slow him down– and there were two loud pops as he fired. Megamind swerved to the side. Ares shifted aim, but Megamind had his own weapon out now, and his foe flung himself away to avoid a blast of blue light.

Flung himself away and directly into the path of… Megamind. That startled even Ares, and Roxanne saw him hesitate for the slightest moment before aiming at the nearest threat.

That moment was all Megamind– or was this one Minion?– needed to knock his opponent's arm wide and land a cracking punch on his jaw. (No, Roxanne decided, this one was definitely the real Megamind.) Ares' head snapped to the side, but he spun with the movement, keeping his balance and firing. Megamind dove in a blur. There was a splash of red. Roxanne screamed. She was running before she even realized she'd left the car; nothing mattered but reaching her lover's side.

There was a roar as the hoverbike sped for Ares. Another blast of blue light. But Ares was too fast and hit the ground, the machine screaming over his head. He rolled, took aim, and Roxanne had a split second to see the muzzle of his pistol pointed directly at her like the empty eye of death…

A black boot stomped down on Ares' wrist. The man snarled in pain. Quick as a viper, he twisted, grabbed his assailant's ankle, and threw himself onto his back. Megamind crashed against the wooden wall. Minion spun the hoverbike for a new attack. Ares rolled again, recovered his pistol, and aimed point-blank at Megamind's head.

With a shriek of primal rage, Roxanne aimed the Dehydration Gun. She had only a split second… Ares was fast… He would dodge… She knew that… But if she missed Megamind would…. No! No! That was not an option!

In the blink of an eye, she shifted her aim slightly. There was a flash of blue light a half-second before a bullet cracked into the wooden wall. Ares was left staring dumbfounded at empty space, a small blue cube unnoticed at his feet. It was enough to throw even the assassin off for a moment before he spun to face her, rage distorting every line in his face.

Brainbots swarmed downward, breaking formation to come to the rescue, but they blocked Minion's path as he tried to take aim. Insect-like metallic arms grabbed Roxanne's arms and legs, catapulted upward into the sky.

"Wait!" she shouted, eyes fixed on the tiny blue cube far below. It was a mistake. Ares instantly turned around, following her line of sight. He was too late. A brainbot had grabbed the cube and nearly knocked Ares off his feet as it sped away.

Shouts rang through the trees. "Police! Freeze! Drop your weapon!"

They were too far with too many obstacles in the way, and Ares knew it. Megamind had been right: clearly their enemy trusted that the officers would err on the side of caution and not immediately open fire. He sprinted for the truck, threw it into gear, and gunned the engine, swerving dangerously and nearly hitting one of the cops who dashed out from the trees. The man was jerked out of the way by two brainbots just in time. Shots finally rang out, but they were too late. Ares sped away at reckless speed, throwing a rain of gravel and dust in his wake.

Roxanne wanted to scream and cry in frustration, but she gritted her teeth and pushed the emotions down. Minion was landing the hoverbike, the brainbot carrying Megamind hovering near him.

"Put me down," Roxanne ordered her own team of cyborgs. They ignored her, and she growled under her breath. What would Megamind say? A memory rose of him in the workroom… "Bring Daddy a 5/16 spanner…"

She glared at the brainbots. "Seriously?" They regarded her with glowing red camera eyes, and she sighed in resignation. "Put Mommy down," she said.

They obeyed, and she ran over to Megamind, who had just be re-hydrated by Minion.

She flung herself into his arms, and then immediately jumped back. "Oh, God, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?!"

"Wha– No, no. I'm fine." He pulled her close again.

"But I saw blood," her voice was trembling. I will not cry in front of all these people, she demanded silently of herself. I will not cry. Not here. Not now.

"It wasn't mine," Megamind said.

Roxanne's throat was tight, and she had to dig her nails into her palms to keep control. "I thought– oh, God!– I thought you'd been shot!"

"I was, but I'm fine."

"WHAT?!"

"The suit. Better than Kevlar, remember?" he squeezed her tighter. "I'll be bruised in the morning, but nothing more. Everything is okay."

"Everything is NOT okay!" The panic of the fight was starting to catch up with her. Deep breaths, she reminded herself. Deep breaths… "I… I let him get away! I'm so sorry! I screwed up again!"

"Roxanne, Sweetheart, how many of my past plans were… not exactly resounding successes?"

"Most of those failed on purpose and you know it!" she buried her face against his neck.

"Do you know what a successful person is, Roxanne? It's someone who fails one-thousand times, and tries one-thousand and one."

"We don't have time for one-thousand tries!"

"Then you'll be happy to know this one didn't completely fail. Plan C worked."

"Plan C?"

"Always have a backup plan, and a backup plan for the backup plan," he moved away enough to show her one of his hands. "New gauntlets."

"One of the spikes is– Oh..." she realized that the metal of what she'd assumed to be a broken spike had, in fact, been removed in a clean circle, displaying a tiny hollow. It hadn't been damaged, it had been discharged. "What was in there?" she asked.

"You truly are the smartest person I know," he smiled. "It contained a nano tracking device, one that is currently inside of Ares' body. Even if he realizes it's there, it will be impossible to remove without surgery. Maybe we didn't catch him, but now we can find him, and Olivia."

"You," Roxanne said, slipping one of her hands into her lover's. "You are ridiculously brilliant, do you know that?"

Megamind's cheeks flushed lavender-pink.

Beside them, Minion, his disguise deactivated, was shifting uncomfortably, eyeing the officers as several of them approached. After years of prison life, he clearly had a distrust for law enforcement.

His stance turned even stiffer when they heard a voice Roxanne recognized all too well.

"What the Hell was that?" it demanded.

Megamind's jaw tightened for a single second, then Roxanne saw him smooth his features into insolent blandness before he turned around.

"Agent Rickard. So nice of you to join us."

"Nice little circus performance. Too bad you let the suspect get away!"

"I didn't see you stopping him either. And at least I found him. Led you right to him, actually."

"Don't try to pin this on me!"

Minion's eyes were narrowed, and his fins were thrashing angrily. He hadn't met Rickard before, but Roxanne was willing to bet that he'd seen the live footage of their first encounter. His mechanical fingers balled into fists, and Megamind made a subtle gesture with one hand.

Minion clearly received the message. His fingers uncurled. "I'll take the hoverbike home, shall I, Sir?" the aquatic sidekick suggested pointedly.

Megamind glanced up and nodded. "Do an areal sweep as you go. It's doubtful, with all the trees, but maybe we'll get lucky and you'll spot something useful."

"Yes, Sir!"

"We could have had him if you hadn't gotten in the way!" Rickard accused as Minion sped away

Enough was enough. "Really?" Roxanne said, her voice sickly sweet. "Oh, so you didn't accompany the local police here?"

"What? Of course I did!"

"Oh," she said, falsely innocent. "From what you said, I assumed you'd had your own lead. I mean, you sound as if you don't want Megamind around, but if he was the only reason you even knew Nelson would be here at all, then that can't be right, now can it?"

The agent looked furious.

"Excuse me, Defender?" a familiar officer approached.

"Officer Hanesley. How are you?"

"Honestly, I've been better. I tried to convince them we needed to move sooner. We let you down."

"Not at all. Ares is a wily opponent. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"Well, we're going to make it right, if we can. I just spoke to dispatch. We've set up traffic blocks on every road leading away from here. The perpetrator won't get away."

"Be sure you watch the river, too," the blue hero offered. "Perhaps Rickard here would like to help with that. He seems eager to do something useful."

"The river?!" Rickard looked like someone had just suggested he might want to dress in a banana suit and dance the Macarena.

"Yes," Megamind said in the same tone he might use to explain things to a toddler. "It's that big body of flowing water two miles east of us."

"He's in a fucking truck! You think he's going to, what? Float?! I've got important things to do!"

Megamind didn't respond, and the other man stormed away.

"You sure Nelson's going to make for the river, sir?" Hanesley asked.

"Nothing is certain, but it's likely enough that I want it covered."

"I'll let my superiors know," she sighed. "I just hope they actually listen."

"And that they have enough officers to spare," Megamind sighed in agreement. "You'll forgive me saying so, Officer Hanesley, but the Metro City Police top brass grew entirely too dependent on having a super-powered hero around." He hugged Roxanne close again and began rubbing his chin against her hair. "Well, all any of us can do now is our best. I suppose we'll see what happens."