A note on languages: the words for mama and papa are surprisingly consistent across a wide variety of languages. The bilabial sounds 'm', 'p', 'b', and open vowel 'a' are the easiest to produce, and are usually the first sounds that babies are able to make. There are variations of course; in Fijian, the word for 'mother' is 'nana', and in Mongolian and Turkish it's 'ana'. But in so many languages it is 'mama' or 'ama', 'papa' or 'baba', so I think Megamind's use of 'papa' and 'mama' is perfectly feasible, even though he comes from another planet. The number of different sounds that a human-shaped mouth, tongue, and vocal chords can produce is astounding, but finite.
Okay, enough with the lecture! Now for the conclusion.
Megamind took his hand off Metro Man's shoulder. Wrapping his arms around his chest he walked a few paces down the sidwalk.
"Don't you know? I guess I shouldn't have asked," Metro Man said, getting to his feet.
"I know what happened," Megamind said curtly, and took a deep breath, heaving it out into a sigh. "We are from different planets, in the same star system. I am one of the Calli, from the planet Ah-Ri. You are from the Glaupunk quadrant."
He told him about the three inhabited planets and the four races who occupied them, the Calli and Ah-Kho on one who were known as the Paired Peoples, the Glau on Glaupunk, and the Sen, a race of sentient reptiles on the third, Frelek. And about the catastrophe that sent countless living beings to their deaths.
"It was a black hole," he said in a flat voice. "I think it took us by surprise, because...the chaos. The windows went dark. There was panic. Sirens going off. People shouting, running. The ground shook. There were explosions, or maybe other ships were blasting off, I don't know. My mother was running, she carried me."
He realized he was almost shouting and stopped. Rubbing his arms, trying to warm them, he swallowed hard. "She was running," he said more quietly. "She stumbled and caught herself, and said a bad word." He'd speculated with Minion a few times on what 'g'dzah' meant, because the way his mother said it so explosively it must be a swear word, but Minion claimed to have never heard it before.
"We went into a building, I think it was where she worked, she'd taken me there before, and Papa met us. He put me into the spacepod, and Mama..." He hesitated. He almost said 'gave Minion to me' but he shouldn't remind Wayne of Minion right now. It'd get the big oaf thinking of the ichthyoid's current absence from the scene. Bad enough I told him what Minion's species is called.
Looking up at the sluggish black clouds he struggled to find a way to continue. He didn't want to repeat his father's last words, or think about how his mother raised her hand to the pod as it began its ascent.
"The spacepod took off," he said simply. "When it was clear of the atmosphere, I looked, and I saw it. A black hole, swallowing everything. Everyone."
Idly he scuffed his boot against the sidewalk, kicking up pebbles. Mica, feldspar, and... pink granite? That didn't come from around here, not that color. Probably from some quarry out west of the Mississippi, caught in the treads of a truck, and fallen or knocked off here, on this deserted street. Unnoticed and disregarded. Those little granules certainly had traveled a long way.
A large hand touched his back and he looked up.
Metro Man's somber face looked down at him. "You remember. That must be awful."
Bitterness choked him. Wayne had never expressed any curiosity before about what happened to Megamind's homeworld, it was only now that he knew that he was from the same star system that he even cared. How dare he offer sympathy!
Megamind struck his arm away. "Save the moon eyes for your slobbering fans," he said hoarsely. "I can tell you the reason you are here, on this planet, in this city. It was destiny. Cold, hard destiny has placed us at loggerheads. Our feet have been set on this path, and there is no turning back."
It was a relief to get angry, to rave at this overfed scion of the upper-crust. To lash out at this privileged bastard who seemed to think they had a connection, a bond. The only bond they shared was enmity, and he was determined to make that very clear.
Anger electrified him and he embraced it. Lifting his arm he pointed at the corner behind which the cops waited. "They can't stop me. No prison can hold me. You may be the golden boy of the hour, but I will prevail. I will bring this pathetic city to its knees."
"Over my dead body," Metro Man said, brows furrowing.
"If you insist. You are the only one standing in my way. My people could have conquered this entire backwards planet like that," he said with a snap of his fingers. "I am certain I can handle the takeover of a single metropolis. You may have captured me, but I have attained my objective. You will never find that money, and soon I will walk free. All right, Metro Mahn, let's complete this little charade, and pretend that the police have any authority over me."
Squaring his shoulders, Megamind strode around the corner and into the flashing red and blue lights.
"Ah, there you are! My most persistent admirers," he said, lifting his arms in benediction. "Behold, your prodigal son has..."
"Hold it right there!" The cops had their guns out and trained on him.
"Easy, officers. I'm unarmed," he said. Though he followed their instructions, kneeling and placing his hands behind his head, one of them found enough arrogance in his smirk to justify driving an elbow into his kidney when they had him flat on the ground. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used..."
He tuned out the familiar drone of the Miranda rights. The senior officer was congratulating the hero. "But we still better frisk him, Metro Man. Just to be sure," he said apologetically.
"I understand, Detective. You have a job to do, and I gotta admit, my X-ray vision doesn't always catch everything."
Even with his cheek pressed into the asphalt, Megamind chuckled. "I'll say. Can't even find a few money bags. Maybe you should get your eyes checked."
Metro Man's face, just visible in his line of sight behind the cops surrounding him, shot him a glare.
"No, no, son, you do a fine job," the detective said.
Megamind couldn't help but laugh. "A damn fine job!"
A knee jabbed into his sore kidney, cutting his laughter short. "Shut up," the cop growled, and twisted his arms back to lock the cuffs onto his wrists.
"Can't see police brutality too well, either, hero! Selective sight!" Megamind sneered as they hauled him upright. "Didn't mean to insult your boyfriend, officer. Maybe you can soothe his hurt feelings with hugs and kisses later. So it's a win-win situation, yes?"
The detective looked around. "Where's Minion?"
Metro Man's eyes widened. He shot a furious look at Megamind then leaped into the blackening sky, turning his head this way and that while Megamind snickered. It was a painful business with bruised internal organs and all, but he wasn't going to pass up the chance to rub Metro Dupe's face in it.
"Lose someone, Fancypants?" he shouted. Those super-powered ears could have heard him even if he'd whispered, but he wanted to make sure everyone could hear the drama.
A lightning bolt split the clouds, and thunder immediately followed with a giant crack. Metro Man floated to the ground again, looming over him. "Where did he go?" he demanded.
"Tsk, tsk," said Megamind, clucking his tongue. "You know better than that."
The detective put a hand on Metro Man's arm. "It's all right, son. We'll get him."
Minion's successful escape cheered Megamind no end. "Want to bet? You'll have to excuse Mr. Goody Two-shoes here, officers, he's had a nasty existential shock. Mommy and Daddy never told him he was an alien from another world, so he's kind of..."
The blow fell against his jaw hard and at light-speed, making a rainbow of stars flash across his vision.
He found himself lying underneath one of the cops whom he had landed against before they both bounced off the squad car and ended up on the ground.
Megamind struggled out from under the stunned man, aided by the cop who came to help his partner sit up, and Megamind even managed a retaliatory kick in the process, though he wasn't entirely sure he'd gotten the one who'd done the kidney bruising. He rolled onto his knees and lurched to his feet, the harsh taste of blood in his mouth.
"Do it again," he panted at Metro Man, who was staring at his own fist as if he didn't recognize it. Megamind staggered another step to the side as dizziness threatened to tip him over, but he stayed on his feet and turned the other side of his face toward Wayne.
"Come on, Wayne. Hit me again, as hard as you can." Blood dribbled down his chin. "Hit me. Try to change who you are. What you are."
Metro Man opened his fist and glanced at the cops. The detective looked at him with concern, but some of them avoided his gaze. He worked hard to gain their trust, and now suddenly they weren't so sure about him anymore.
A genuinely friendly person, it hurt when people were afraid of him. Or at least the right people. He only used his powers for good, and directed his strength against the criminal element. But striking a helpless prisoner? Even one as obnoxious as Megamind. That was wrong. He no longer knew who he was, but at least his duty hadn't changed. He had to do the right thing.
He forced himself to look Megamind in the eye. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what came over me. If you want to press charges, I'll understand."
"Bite me," Megamind spat. "Press charges! What are they going to do, take away your cape?"
A muscle jumped in Metro Man's jaw, but he stepped around him and picked up the hat of the officer he'd inadvertently clobbered with the villain, and handed it to him. "Gosh, I'm real sorry, Officer Haines." The man, still sitting on the ground and leaning against the car, accepted it with caution.
The detective made an impatient gesture at Megamind. "Get him out of here," he said, and two men seized Megamind's arms and steered him toward another car. The wind blew harder, welding his jacket against his back, and freezing rain began to pour down.
"Nice talking to you, hero," Megamind called. "You want another little chitchat, you know where to find me. For now. Better hurry, I won't be there for long." The chuckle came out more as a wheeze, but as they pulled away, he saw Metro Man, his perfect hair plastered to his head by the rain, looking after the departing police car.
He slumped in his seat, giving himself over to the latest round of injuries. The whole side of his face ached, from jaw to temple. That blow landed so fast he hadn't even seen it, and he knew that only Metro Man's self-control kept it from becoming a killing blow.
Megamind wondered if the swelling would be gone by the time the warden got around to visiting. He supposed he better mentally prepare for another 'are-you-trying-to-get-yourself-killed-what-were-you-thinking' lecture.
"Don't you have any decency?" one of the cops said. Megamind opened his eyes and saw the man glaring at him in the rear-view mirror.
"Of course not," he said. "I'm an ee-vil alien." And closed his eyes again.
Thank you for reading! Please review. :)