"Minion, if this is about that dreadful Rock 'Em, Sock'em Kittens project last week, I do not want to talk about it." The alien sat lazily at his desk, working on one of his restless Brainbots that had a broken leg. "Hold still, Pinky! We both wouldn't be here if you hadn't stolen Boxer's wrench! You know how possessive he is!"
The fish hurried inside of the workroom, waving the three mentioned newspapers wildly. "No, Sir, it's about the Warbucks case!"
"What about it? Did they finally recover that idiotic girl that ran off?" Megamind scoffed. "I hope he gives her the spanking of a century."
Minion frowned. "No, Sir. They didn't. Actually, Mr. Warbucks will never find his daughter. He passed on yesterday from heart failure." He silently handed the papers over to his friend, waiting for his reaction.
The blue alien took one look at the headlines, his eyes narrowed. A cold wave of fury came over him. A growl escaped from his tightened lips. Megamind took the newspapers and scanned the articles. Meanwhile, Mnion was nervous about his friend's response to this news.
"Sir? Are...you okay?"
"How could I be, Minion? Have you no idea how close to home this hits for me? Of course you do. I would give my entire lifestyle up just to see my parents again. To hear their voices, see Father's smile, listen to Mother's laughter. And because of God-knows-what reason, she ran away from her own father! Of course I'm not okay, Minion! Family is the only thing worth having and she threw it away like garbage in the street!" A blue hand slammed the cold metal of the desk, frightening Pinky. The Brainbot flew across the room, cowering, until she crashed into the far wall of the room. Megamind sighed. He grabbed the Metro City Monitor and flipped through it until he found the picture that could be seen all over the world. A sixteen year old girl with long, bright red curls was posed with her arms wide open. The smile reached from one ear to the other, her freckles barely noticeable unless you looked very closely. What stood out the most about her was not her hair, but her sky-blue eyes. Eyes that proved that this child had been through Hell and back, but always believed that the sun was shining.
Her backstory was unknown to the public. Oliver Warbucks appeared one day as a childless bachelor. Then out of nowhere, pictures circulated everywhere featuring the millionaire curmudgeon with a girl he claimed as his ten-year-old daughter, Anne Marie. There was no mention of her mother or even where the child was hiding for a decade. Anne simply popped into existence, but the public eye adored her love for life. Six years later, she disappeared as fast as she came without a trace. This case both angered and intrigued Megamind. He was appalled at how selfish she was, but the criminal genius inside of him was also amazed at how well the girl covered her tracks. He even investigated the 'crime scene' himself when it all first started, also believing that Anne was kidnapped. However, when no signs of a struggle or a break-in were found, Megamind was the first to find out that no one had kidnapped the heiress. After anonymously giving the tip to the police, the alien took it upon himself to search the city, intent on teaching the girl a lesson. Unfortunately, this never happened.
Ten years later Megamind was still thinking about the case on a daily basis, albeit occasionally. His priority was his criminal career that reached a new height with the premiere of Metro Man. The blue genius had been looking over his notes on the Warbucks situation when Minion just so happened to turn the television to Channel 8. A shy reporter was covering the results of the first battle between the new superhero and his arch-nemisis. It was attraction at first sight to Megamind. Eventually, he ceased to think about the missing child altogether because of Roxanne Ritchi.
Speaking of his beautiful temptress..."MINION! CHANNEL 8! I mean, there, uh, might be a report on it! Better go check the television!"
Minion's eyebrow raised, but he complied. The monitors were tuned in to the news report. However, the duo's kidnappee was not covering it. A blond, vuluptious woman instead appeared on the screens.
"Oh. Well, that's interesting. Usually Miss Ritchi is in charge of the breaking news topics. Not that it matters." The villain crossed his arms. "At least this opens up her schedule. Maybe today's kidnapping can be bumped up by a couple of hours. Did you feed Mary, Shelly, and Frank, Minion? They seemed awfully too chipper to snap at Miss Ritchi last Tuesday. I don't want a repeat of that."
The fish nodded. "I'll get on it immediately, Sir. By the way, I left your ray gun in the invisible car last night, but I think it's fully charged and ready to go. Also, I finished patching up Silver Cobra last night. Metro Man's laser vision really did a number on it. I was almost ready to throw it out and make it again from scratch. Really, he ought to know that every time he does that, it only creates more work for me." He sniffed once, then exited the room.
The supervillain cackled and was about to follow after his friend when he felt something brush his knee. Megamind looked down to find Pinky. Her mechanical eye blinked at him once, then continued to snuggle up against him. Tiny sparks erupted from one of her metal legs.
"Don't worry, Pinky, I haven't forgotten about you." He smiled faintly as he gathered the bot in his arms.
"Bowg, bowg." The Brainbot chirped happily as her master led her out of the dark workroom. She trusted her creator because in his arms, Pinky knew that she would be safe.