Chapter 1

Morning light was starting to creep into the lair. Roxanne and Minion hadn't slept in hours. She sat in front of the monitors. Minion had gone to get her something to eat and drink.

She was flicking from street image to street image. The fish had told her a year ago that Megamind had hacked into all the surveillance cameras around the city so he could track Wayne and that he still had access to it all. But with the most recent events and them turning sides, he had started telling Commissioner Jackson whenever he wanted to use it. Not wanting to worry the Commissioner about the missing hero, Roxanne had Minion activate the back door so she could look at all the cameras. So here she sat.

By seven a.m. she had seen the first few citizens getting up and going to work. She sighed and picked up her mobile phone. She had ready called her camerawoman, telling her she'll be in around nine, but she was now going to call someone who had years of experience finding the blue alien. She keyed in a number she'd known for years.

"Hello." A sleepily voice spoke first.

"He's not back, Wayne," she said in a rushed voice. "It's been two days."

"Roxie, we are talking about Megamind here. I'm sure he's fine."

"Damn it Wayne, he turned off the tracking setting on his watch." She held the phone while still watching the screens. "He hasn't called me or Minion all this time!" She leaned in close to a screen, seeing someone she knew, and glared. It was Jeremy Autumn and his cameraman in one of the news vans. She shook her head, getting back to the conversation. "Minion tells me it's fine and I shouldn't worry but, Wayne, It's not like him not to call."

She could hear Wayne sigh. He then spoke. "Okay, Roxie. I'll take a fly over the city and see if I can spot him."

"Thank you." She closed her phone just as Minion appeared, holding a tray of food. "Oh, thanks, Minion." She smiled.

Spotting the phone in her hand, she smiled weakly. He looked down at the tray, then said, "Miss Ritchi, Sir will be all right. It's not the first time he's vanished like this. But, since you're worried, I've got half the brainbots out looking for him."

"But Minion, surely one of the groups will have found him by now."

He smiled at her. "Sir can be excellent at hiding from them. He did build them"

"Minion, I called Wayne because he's fast, very fast infact. I've got a feeling something happened." She watched the fish.

Minion looked up again and right at the monitors. "Sir's tougher than you think, Miss Ritchi."

Roxanne could tell he was worried, so she stood up and moved closer to him. "Minion, I'm sure Wayne will find him." He smiled at her.

Light of the slowly rising sun entered the room where Megamind sat on the floor. All around him were parts of different components that would make up a larger machine that was very nearly finished. He leaned with his back against the front of the sofa and looked at the time.

The clock told him it was five a.m. He sighed. This was the third day he hadn't been back to the Lair. Minion would be worrying.

He lifted his hands and rubbed at his face; he had been working for16 hours straight and was only now feeling the effects of exhaustion. Looking to his right, he grabbed the mug from a small table and took a long gulp. He smiled. The effects that alcohol gave him didn't just stop the voice in his mind. It also kept him awake longer than coffee. He had laughed when the first lot of rumours that he couldn't handle the stuff started up. 'Hello, alien, not human.'

He looked back down and started working again. In the corner of the room was the large control panel. It was almost finished and so was most of the main machine. He was just doing some changes to the power supply.

He looked over to a window, seeing light slowly filter in. He started thinking maybe telling his friends he was okay would be better.

He let out a long sigh and stopped again. Minion helped with a lot of the larger machines, but when it came to the smaller more detailed things like he was working on right now, it would be only Megamind working on them.

Newton was lying on the sofa behind him, watching him work with slit eyes; the curtains were half drawn letting light pour in. The cat's ears flicked and he lifted his head to watched as his blue master's hands, moving fast as he worked. After a while, the cat stood up, deciding he wanted some fuss from those hands. He jumped onto the edge of the table that led to the keyboard panel Megamind was working on.

Both of the cat's back paws hits a series of keys on the keyboard attached to the machine. A startled sound came from Megamind. He reached over, grabbed the cat off the controls and just sat starring at the machine in the corner.

"Newton," he spoke as if telling off a child. He looked at the cat for a moment then realizing the machine was doing something it shouldn't. He stood on sleepy legs and rushed to stand up and made for the door. "We have to get out."

Newton was hissing, trying to get out of his arms. Using his front and back claws, he started tearing at the blue arm.

"Ah! Newton, that's not helping." He heard a sound. Stupidly, he stopped and turned a meter from the door right as the machine exploded