It was a beautiful morning in Metro City, the sun was shining and birds were chirping. Everyone looked happy.
Or almost everyone. In her apartment Roxanne was drinking her third cup of morning coffee. She really needed caffeine. It had been a very restless night, she had rolled on her bed and slept short periods, Wayne's last night phone call repeating itself over and over again in her head.
'What's Megamind up to? What are those creatures Wayne was talking about? When will I see this super genius again? I miss him.. No I'm not.. I won't.. But I do.. Why am I missing him? Am I..? No, I can't.. Do I like him?'
This kind of questions were twirling in her head all night long till the sun came up and hinted it was time to start a new day.
Wearily she stood up and headed to the bathroom. Glance to mirror told she looked terrible. There was a large dark circles underneath her eyes, the skin looked dull and her hair was shaggy. It seemed she needed more time this morning to get herself ready than usually.
After washing her face with a cold water, extending the moisturizer and brushing her hair and teeth she went to the kitchen and turned on a coffee maker. Then she fetched the morning paper, poured the coffee into her "The Best Journalist" mug and sat down in front of her dining table scanning the paper.
There was nothing interesting. 'Maybe it was 'cause there wasn't anything about Megamind.' Her mind told to her. She finished her third cup of coffee thinking she might have Stockholm syndrome.
She returned to her bedroom and opened the clothes closet. She picked up a black pen skirt, white blouse and blue woman's blazer. 'Oh, I'm even wearing his colors' she pondered while studying her reflection in the mirror. 'That's not good Roxanne. Are you losing your mind?' She asked herself adding some make-up on her tired face. It was a miracle how much the eyeliner, blush and lip gloss were able to do. She stared at her reflection satisfied smile on her lips and then she glanced a clock.
Oh shit, she should hurry if she didn't want to be late from work. Quickly she gathered her keys, phone and a wallet into her purse and put on her black pumps.
She opened her front door and suddenly she realized she wouldn't make it.
There was Minion standing in front of her door Forget-Me-Spray can in his hand. "Terribly sorry Miss Ritchi" he apologized and then everything went black.
…
When Roxanne resuscitated she found she was sitting in a very familiar chair her hands tied behind her as were her ankles in front of her. It was like always but Roxanne noticed soon the awful smelly bag was missing. Instead her eyes were covered with a blindfold.
"She's awake, quick, places." She heard someone whispering.
Then the blindfold was unwrapped and she saw how the black, silky piece of fabric fell on her lap. She rose her gaze from it and there was Megamind sitting in front of her on his black leather chair smiling slyly to her.
"Miss Ritchi, we meet again."
He looked like he hadn't slept on weeks. Even his demeanor was more modest than usually. The ordinary bravado of his was missing. Roxanne had never seen him like this before.
"Forgot the bag in the laundry?" She asked wryly trying to pretend she was nonchalant.
"Missing it Miss Ritchi? I thought the blindfold would be more suitable for the Last Grand Kidnapping." He said still smiling to her but there was a hint of melancholy and bitterness in his voice. "Nice outfit, by the way." He smirked.
'Outfit?' She took a look at herself and remembered she had picked his colors. She decided to act she didn't hear his last sentence and changed the subject
"The Last Grand Kidnapping?" She questioned rising her other eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Megamind's smile dropped. "That's the last one I will ever put in order. The final kidnapping ever.. You know?" He hissed quietly through his teeth staring at her threateningly. 'Why was she always like this? It's so hard to impress her.'
Roxanne looked at him confused. What was he talking about it was the last one kidnapping ever? He had put in order those countless times. Why did he want to quit now? Then Roxanne remembered Wayne's phone call and the conversation about living things. Instinctively she tried to peek was there something behind his chair.
"What are you looking at?" He asked embarrassed looking at her questioningly.
"I just.. What's the weapon this time?" She asked a little more excited than she was meaning to. She made a mental facepalm immediately she said that.
Smile returned back on Megamind's face and he let out a little evil chuckle. "Eager aren't we?" He asked with a seductive voice wiggling his brow. 'Maybe I finally managed to do it!'
This manner made Roxanne got butterflies in her stomach 'Oh god! Does he know how sexy he is when he acts and talks like this? How can he be so expressive? Did I just considered he's sexy? Oh, I'm in trouble..' She thought watching him before her eyes talking and waving his hands trying to explain something.
She didn't hear. She had lost into his eyes. His big, wide and emerald eyes, staring at her, trying to say something..
"Miss Ritchi, is everything okay?"
Roxanne startled from her thoughts. "What? Yeah, sure, everything's fine. Everything's perfectly fine." She smiled at him warmly.
Megamind looked at her puzzled. Then he glanced Minion who was standing in front of the door. He shrugged and looked as puzzled as Megamind. 'Was there something wrong with the Forget-Me-Spray? Why is she behaving so strange?'
"So, get ready to see my last shocking plan!" He exclaimed defiantly and pointed his index finger towards the ceiling. Then he hopped from his chair, went to the monitor desk and picked up something. Roxanne couldn't see what it was.
"Minion, you can go now." He told to fish who made a disbelief face. Megamind had never before asked him to leave during the kidnapping.
"But Sir..?" He tried to plead tentatively. He really wanted to see Sir's latest plan, he hadn't told anything about it to him. It must be something magnificent.
"Minion just go. I have to do this myself. Please?" He spoke softly but determinedly. And it was true, he really need to do this himself.
Minion opened the door slowly waiting his boss would change his mind but when Megamind didn't say anything he looked over his shoulder one last time eyes full of unbelief and shock before he left the room. Roxanne was surprised. 'What's going on?'
When he was gone Megamind turned around and returned slowly to stand in front of Roxanne. There was a cable tie in his other hand and in the other was a..
'A syringe?' Roxanne looked at him perplexed. 'Was this his perception about The Last Grand Kidnapping? And why Minion wasn't allowed to be here' Roxanne was astonished. Telling the truth she was a little disappointed. But what he was up to? 'Was he going to.?' Oh no, Roxanne hated needles. What was this liquid inside of the syringe? He wouldn't dare to do it to her, or would he? He had never hurt her before but if this was the last kidnapping ever maybe he had changed the rules. He was a villain even Roxanne didn't want to believe it. Instinctively she turned her gaze away, closed her eyes and prepared to fell a sting.
It didn't come. Instead she heard a buckle opening and when she turned her gaze back to him she saw how he was undressing his glove from the left hand and after that he rolled up his sleeve.
Roxanne was confused. She had never seen so much his bare blue skin. It looked so smooth and soft.. 'How would it feel..?' She slightly shook her head and forced her mind back to this moment. 'What is he doing?'
Megamind tightened the cable tie around his biceps. 'He's using it as a tourniquet' Roxanne thought quietly. He removed the cover of the needle and grimaced when the needle penetrated his skin and a vein. Slowly he pushed the inside of the syringe into his vein.
"This is your idea of 'The Last Grand Kidnapping' you become a junkie?" She asked sarcastically. "What even was that stuff?"
"A snake poison" He said quietly, pulling the needle from his vein. His forearm started bleeding immediately when the needle left it but he didn't care. He cut the cable tie and rolled his sleeve back down hiding the blood stream and dressed the glove.
"Wh.. What?" Roxanne asked baffled. "You.. you're kiddin' me, right?" She laughed trying to coax him to confess he was kidding. 'He must be kidding!'
But he wasn't laughing. Instead he glanced her sadly and sat down on his chair opposite her.
"But.. Megamind what're you..? Why?" She asked gaping at him shocked when the realization hit her. 'I can't believe what he's doing! He can't do this! This must be a trick!'
He let out a deep sigh. 'Why is she acting like she doesn't know? Isn't it obvious? Well maybe I tell to her..' He glanced his watch checking how much he had time before the poison would do the trick and then he shared his story with her.
"Why Miss Ritchi? Why? Do you really want to know?" Roxanne nodded encouraging him to go on.
"Well, all my life I've been an outcast, outsider, the last one picked, the loser.. All my fucking life.." He raised his voice.
Roxanne startled, she hadn't heard him swearing before.
"Look at me. I'm a blue freak from another planet with a giant blue head" He pointed his index fingers towards his cranium. "Everyone has always reminded me about that since I was a child 'Why are you blue? Why your head is so big?'" he mimicked somebody from his past. "Everyone has always treated me like a piece of shit, all my life!" He was shouting.
Roxanne didn't know he was so uncertain of himself. He was always proclaiming how incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy he is. She was amazed.
"I spend my whole childhood in the prison, guess why?" He asked bitterly. "Because no one ever wanted to adopt a blue alien child and his fish."
Roxanne felt how her heart was breaking down. 'He must have been a very cute baby. Cute babies don't belong in jail were they blue or not!'
"When I went to shool I was excited to made a new friends but no. They thought it was right to bully me because I was different. They threw me with those fucking dodgeballs every single day. And they told me I deserved it, even the teacher thought it was OK 'cause I wasn't like the others." He closed his eyes and it seemed he tried to reassure his nerves recalling the painful memories, inhaling and exhaling deeply couple times.
"In high shool the other students went play football or hanging around in a café with their friends after shool but not me, guess why? Because I didn't have friends. No one never wanted to be my friend. Everyone just pushed, kicked and laughed to me." He confessed staring at the floor.
Roxanne felt pure rage. 'How could people be so cruel, even his teacher!? He was a helpless kid. He has suffered so much..'
"The prison bus picked me up every day and the guards chained me in front of the shool also pushing and kickin' me. Sometimes they used tasers if I didn't do immediately what they were saying. It felt like they tried to tell to whole shool it was fine to treat me like I was a monster who could attack anytime and needed the punishment." He had become paler and his skin looked sweaty while he was telling his story. He had tried not to lose his temper 'cause he know it would make the poison affect faster but he couldn't help it the old memories had made him bloodthirsty.
Roxanne's eyes were filled with tears. Usually she would correct his mispronouncing and blame him 'cause he couldn't pronounce such a simple word as school, but not this time. She was speechless.
"I have only Minion who really cares about me, has ever care. He's my only friend. No one has never bothered to ask how am I? No one has never thought I'm a feeling and living individual. Everyone hopes I wasn't born. All these last years I have wished it could change. I thought I would earn some respect if I become a super villain but no. People are screaming and running away. And then there's your awesome boyfriend who always beat me. I just.. I can't stand it anymore!" He pushed his head to his hands.
Roxanne was baffled. 'Does he really think I'm with Wayne?' The thought made her shiver.
"I always thought being a super villain is my destiny. I was so wrong." He sighed. "My destiny has always been to be a blue, unlovable loser. Now and forever. I have accepted it. It's my time to make a favor to the world. Soon I won't exist anymore and everybody will be happy. That's the one and only thing I can ever do right." He was gasping. It seemed the poison had started to affect.
Roxanne didn't know what to say. She was shaken to hear what he had gone through, his story was so painful. She wished her hands were free so she could wrap him in her arms. "I'm your friend Megamind." She whispered.
"No you're not." He snapped. "You don't know anything about me what friends usually do like what's my favorite movie or food or band or what I like to do in my spare time. We have never spent time together playing Scrabble or some other stupid things.. But what am I supposed to know.." He said bitterly.
He was right. Roxanne didn't know what does he liked or preferred. She regretted she had always played her role like she didn't care even she liked him and secretly enjoyed these encounters. Why she had been so stupid, so blind she didn't notice he yearned for accept, wished someone would notice him. Why she had been so impolite never asked how was he? Why she had always been so rude, judging him and his inventions when he desperately tried to impress her. Why she hadn't told how much he means to her? Why she had been such a fool? She felt she was as bad as the people from his past and it made her heart aching.
She need to tell him now before it was too late. She was starting her sentence but he was faster.
"All these years, all these kidnapping. I did just for you." He whispered sweetly supporting him against the chair's armrest. "Miss Ritchi, I have always liked you, I still do. You're a wonderful person and the most beautiful woman I've ever met. I don't know did you ever notice but I always tried to impress you, during all these years." It was harder to breathe and Megamind felt how his heart was beating rapidly, the venom streaming in his veins. He checked the watch and noticed his time was running out.
"Miss Ritchi…" He slid from his chair on the floor in front of her and grabbed her left knee with his right hand. "Please, forgive me.. Kidnappings and wasting your time and messing your clothes.. Everything..I ever..did.."
Roxanne was shedding tears. 'This isn't happening, it won't happen. He likes me and I like him. This can't be true. Why I was so fool, never told to him.. And now he's dying..'
Roxanne tried to struggle herself away from the bindings but there wasn't an effect in her actions. Now or never she should be holding him, tell how she feel for him.
"Megamind, please. Don't do this! There's an antidote, isn't it? We can cancel this, right? Please?"
Roxanne was pleading desperately. 'There must be an antidote'
Megamind smiled sadly for her and shook his head. He felt how his pulse was slowing down.
"Have a good life with Metro Man, he deserves you. The bad guy.. doesn't get the girl." He said softly with his last ounce of strength and then he collapsed on the floor in front of her spasming a moment and then he went perfectly still.
A deathly silence filled the room until woman's scream broke it.
"METRO MAN! MINION!"