"Ollo, Bernard!" Megamind greeted as he opened the door. Bernard smiled and waved.

"Hello, Sir."

"Isn't it a bit late for you to be up?" Minion asked, walking in with Song in one robotic arm and Mark clinging to the leg on his other side.

"It's a Friday, and Metrocity said to come over at this time. She said it was the best time to be working on the actual project." Megamind nodded and moved aside so that Bernard could scoot past. No one was overly surprised that he was there, no matter what the hour. Bernard and Metrocity were so close that her family was practically his, and she was welcome at the Scott residence at anytime. The only one who was in any way surprised was, surprisingly, Roxanne.

"She's up in her room," Damion grumbled as he walked passed, headed to grab a soda from the fridge. Bernard nodded his thanks and turned.

"Hi, Mrs. Ritchi!" he called as she passed him on his way to the stairs.

"Hi, Bernard!" she greeted, not showing her alarm in the least before watching him go up the stairs. Then she turned her attention to her husband, kids, and Minion. "Minion, could you put Song and Mark to bed for me?" she asked, taking note of Mark's heavy, dark lids. "They look completely tuckered out."

"Of course, Ms. Ritchi!" Minion exclaimed, always happy to lend assistance, especially where the children were involved.

"Mrs. Ritchi!" she reminded the robot-gorilla fish before leaning down to kiss Damion on the forehead as he passed by the second time. The twelve-year-old grimaced and wiped at his silver skin.

"Why do I have to be different?" he grouched

"Because you were meant to do great things," Roxanne informed him, her customary answer to the rhetorical question that came at least twice on any given day. "I'll be in to tuck you in in a few minutes."

"Do you have to?" Roxanne frowned slightly.

"I suppose I don't if you don't want me to. Do you?" Damion shook his head. "Ok then. Goodnight sweetheart." Damion continued down the hall without a word before locking himself in his room. Roxanne shook her head and continued to Megamind's side before wrapping her arms around his thin frame.

"Ollo," she said in a low, almost sultry voice, and Megamind was quick to return the greeting in a similar tone.

"Ollo."

"Doesn't it ever worry you?" she asked, pulling back and switching tones almost immediately.

"What?" Megamind asked, as clueless as ever. Roxanne nodded her head toward the stairs.

"That Bernard is always going up to Metrocity's room at all hours of the night! Doesn't it bother you at all?"

"No," he answered carefully, brow creased as he tried to figure out this newest cryptic message in Daddom. "Should it?"

"It would bother any other Father in Metrocity." Megamind and Metrocity were really getting to her head lately with all of their mispronunciations.

"Why's that?" Roxanne smiled and shook her head. He was absolutely unteachable—adorable, but unteachable.

"Because they're teenagers now—a boy, and a girl, alone, unattended, in a soundproof room..."

"Not nearly!" Megamind alleged. "The baby monitor is still installed up there from when she was tiny. It's not completely trustworthy—when it's on it doesn't turn off, and when it's off it's shut itself off. And why should—Oooh, I see where you're going with this!" Megamind said, finally following the path his wife's mind had taken, a belated expression of both understanding and deep thought taking over his face.

"No, I'm not worried in the least!" he decided. "When it's on, like I said, it doesn't shut off, and they never talk about more than shool, classmates, and battling evil. And Bernard's a nice boy," Megamind reminded her. "He wouldn't hurt Metrocity." Roxanne laughed.

"Any other Father of any other girl in the world would be more worried about a nice guy being in his daughter's room than a mean one—"

"But—"

"But you don't seem to be worried at all! I don't know—maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right!" Megamind proclaimed, bringing himself up to his full height and puffing out his chest. "Just trust me, Roxanne; we have nothing to worry about!"

***Break***

"OK, now, the hyperactive microfollide should go here," Metrocity said, pointing to the spot as Bernard looked through a magnifying glass. "And the stabilizer chip goes here...And now we apply the iron sheeting, and... We're done!" Metrocity cried. "We're done!"

"We're done!" Bernard echoed, leaping up from his seat.

"We did it!" Metrocity shouted, grabbing Bernard by the shoulders and he grabbing her in the same manner. "We've done it!"

"We'll get an A on the project!"

"We can supply the town with power!"

"We can rid the world of its trash problems!"

"We're getting an A on our project!" Metrocity finished in a loop, and they started laughing and laughing and laughing as the sun rose. It had taken them six long, grueling hours and a missed night of sleep, but it was worth it. It was all worth it. And like Megamind had said, they had nothing to worry about, even as they ended up passed out in a heap next to the desk, insanely tired from being up for twenty-four hours. They were just friends. And that wasn't likely to change.

***Break***

In his room, Damion grumbled as he worked on the greatest invention of all time—in his eyes—only every third word coherent to this third person.

"Stupid Metrocity... Metro City... Minion... Pay... Megamind! Roxanne!... Never guess... And then... And I'LL be the one... And then they'll scream... And I'll... Pity and...Death, despair... Know the name... Damion Ritchi is... Recreation... And then...Metro City...will be...MINE!"

Author Comments:

OK, this chapter is so...Something, that I have no questions for it. Well DONE, chapter, well DONE! And Roxanne, be quiet and listen to Megamind! He knows what he's talking about...Or does he? MWAHAHAHAHAHAqAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh! And the bit with Bernard and Metrocity—I have no idea what a microfollide is, and I'm almost certain that it doesn't exist. I was making things up. XDXD