Beginning, or First Date (With No Kidnapping)

PLOT SUMMARY: Immediate sequel to Revenge. Roxanne and Megamind have their first official date. Set pre-movie, AU/AR. WARNING: Possible Sweetness Overdose + parts of the story will probably not make sense unless you read Revenge.

DISCLAIMER: (Do I really have to say this?) I do not own Megamind in any way, have no financial stake in the movie or characters, and this story is just for fun. Thanks, DreamWorks, for letting us play in your sandbox.

Chapter 1. Prelude

Tina's voice said, "Earth to Roxanne." She broke out of her reverie, saw her friends looking at her, and realized she had no idea what they had been talking about. Julia seemed concerned, but Tina was just amused. "Are you alright? You're not sick or anything? Or is there something bothering you?" Julia asked.

Roxanne was annoyed with herself, and a little flustered. She didn't get to spend time with her friends that often. She should be taking advantage of the opportunity, not being preoccupied with the events of last night or the upcoming date. "No, no. I'm fine. Just wool-gathering. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Were you out late because of that charity ball you two went to last evening?" Julia queried.

Tina gave a little laugh. "She went home hours before I did. I was there until they closed the joint." She turned to Roxanne. "Or did you have a hot date afterwards that kept you up late?"

To her embarrassment, Roxanne realized that she was starting to blush. "No, no, I just had trouble sleeping."

"You are so lying. What are you hiding? I bet it has to do with a guy. Come on, spill!"

[Earlier that day]

The bells on the door jangled as Michelle finished up with the first customer of the day. Good, she thought, business didn't usually pick up until late morning. More customers, more commission. "I'll be with you in a moment, sir," she greeted the man. He didn't acknowledge her, but looked at the display of cell phones. When she finally turned her full attention to him, she thought he seemed nervous. "How can I help you?" When he turned to look at her, she noted he was unremarkable in appearance (average height, average weight, medium brown hair), except for the eyes; the eyes were the most brilliant green she had ever seen.

"I am interested in a, what is the term? A disposable cell phone, the type that cannot be traced."

Michelle thought to herself that he didn't really look like the criminal type, but what did she know? Maybe he's cheating on his wife. No one gets that type of phone unless they are hiding something. But, not her problem. A sale is a sale. "If you come over here, sir, I'll explain the different options." He was a strange customer. He appeared to understand the complex, technical aspects, but seemed to know nothing about the basics, like how to send a text message. He finally acknowledged that he had never owned a cell phone before. She gave him a brief tutorial, since there were no other customers, and he seemed appreciative. He had trouble deciding between two phones, and ended up buying them both, with cash. Definitely hiding something.

"Tina, I swear you read too many detective novels. You are so suspicious, expecting secrets everywhere."

"Roxanne, don't try to change the subject. I think I know you rather well after working all those years at the station together. I may not have your nose for news, but I'm not completely unobservant. Like I noticed you were interested in that robotics professor you interviewed. I saw him briefly at the event last night. Did you ever get a chance to talk with him? Oh, I know, did you plan to meet up with him later? Is that why you left so early?"

"Alright. You are correct that I had been kind of interested in him, and I did get to talk to him. And then the man introduced me to his lovely, pregnant wife. So, no, I left because I was tired, it had been a long week and I just wanted to go home and sleep."

"So why so tired and spacey? What kept you from sleep? I still think it has something to do with a guy."

"Give it a rest, Tina," Julia admonished. Looking at Roxanne, concern in her face, Julia said, "I think something is bothering you. We're your best friends. Can't you talk to us about it?"

"One of you thinks she's a detective, and the other a psychotherapist. How about both of you leave me alone!"

Roxanne saw the stunned looks on their faces, and immediately felt terrible. She covered her face with her hands, and realized to her horror that tears were starting to leak from her eyes. Wiping them with her napkin, she murmured, "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. There is something going on, but I can't talk about it. I'm not even sure how to describe it." Suddenly her phone gave the tone that indicated a text message. "I'm sorry, I'm expecting something important. I need to check this." Taking her phone from her purse, she opened the text and read:

"HAVE NEW PHONE. HOPE I AM NOT INTERRUPTING. NOT SPYING SO DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. CALL ME WHEN YOU CAN TO DISCUSS DATE. M"

She couldn't help it. It made her smile to imagine him figuring out how to text, and then reading what he sent. She glanced up to see her friends looking at her, Tina smug and Julia astonished. Tina nudged Julia. "Told you it was about a guy."

[Earlier that day]

Megamind was jittery, unable to settle. After finally going to bed early in the morning, he slept for about 4 hours. Then he got up and prepared for the trip to the phone store. Fortunately, he already had an acceptable disguise for the errand. He had accumulated quite a few during the time he was engaged in surveillance on Roxanne. Bland, normal looking people, the type that don't draw attention. He had also developed similar disguises for the invisible car, to use when he was trying to blend in as human. Minion had said nothing when Megamind announced he was going by himself in the car to get the phone, and again nothing when Megamind returned. Was he sulking? Was he afraid he would make Megamind angry if he said anything, asked anything? "I'll talk to him later," Megamind thought, "I don't have time now." He needed to make sure he completely understood how the cell phone worked, calling and text messages. And he had to make some kind of plan or series of options for his first date with Roxanne. He wanted it to be special. All that surveillance and he still wasn't sure what activities she would like best. So many traditional dating activities he could only do in disguise. Going as himself, the blue skinned, big headed alien would draw unwanted attention (and probably the police or even Metro Man) in movie theaters, restaurants, concert halls, parks, malls, virtually everywhere. He wanted to spend time with her as himself, but not in the Lair, the scene of that recent strange but productive interaction. Nothing seemed like a good idea.

Once he had the phone figured out, he wanted to call her immediately. But he told himself he had to be patient. It had been less than 12 hours since he had dropped her off at her apartment, and he was missing her already. He wanted to make contact, to be reassured that she would still willingly see him again. He wanted to send a spybot to check on her activities, to follow her surreptitiously, but firmly told himself this was not acceptable in the type of relationship he wanted to have with her. He promised himself he would devise a list of at least five activities they could do that did not require a disguise, than reward himself by sending her a text message stating he was ready to discuss their date. He knew of her plans for dinner with friends, but the sales clerk at the store had suggested text messages were considered less intrusive than calling. So, what could they do?

Julia glanced from Roxanne to Tina, and made a decision. Looking pointedly at Tina, she asked, "So, how do you spend your time at the charity ball? Didn't you say you had a date for the evening? How did that go?" Tina rolled her eyes, but proceeded to answer the questions, allowing Julia to draw the attention away from Roxanne. Inwardly, Roxanne thanked Julia for her tact, and proceeded to finish her meal. Roxanne shared with her friends small tidbits of the rest of her evening at the ball, and there were no further questions about afterwards.

When they were all finished, Julia stood up and said, "I need to make a stop at the ladies' room before we leave." Tina hurriedly added, "Me, too. Roxanne, could you hold down the table so the server doesn't think we tried to skip out without paying?" "Of course," Roxanne said brightly. As soon as they were out of sight, she whipped her phone out of her purse, and proceeded to compose a text:

"SORRY, STILL WITH GIRLFRIENDS, COULDN'T RESPOND TIL NOW. PROBABLY ANOTHER HOUR TIL I CAN CALL. R"

"You know, Tina, I love you, but sometimes, you have all the tact of a Mack truck. You let your curiosity get the better of you. I'll admit, I think you're right about there being a guy involved, but I don't think it's as simple as having a new boyfriend."

"I know. Asking people questions is not my forte. That's why I'm a producer and not a reporter."

"And being an editor at a publishing company is more than just correcting people's grammar and run-on sentences. I have to do a lot of hand-holding, coaxing, coercing, and generally getting people to finish their book by helping them through their problems. Despite what Roxanne said out there, in some ways I do act like a psychotherapist to people, at least to the authors assigned to me."

"So what's your point, Julia?"

"My point, Tina, is that maybe you should let me be alone with Roxanne, and then maybe I can get out of her what's going on."

"So will you promise to call me afterwards and fill me in?"

"No promises. But if she shares anything with me, I'll at least ask her what, if anything, I can share with you."

"Deal. I'll make myself scarce."

When her friends arrived back at the table, Roxanne told them she had picked up the check. They protested, but Roxanne said it was the least she could do after her outburst earlier. "What shall we do now?" asked Julia.

"Oh, unlike some people, I do have a hot date for later." said Tina.

"Don't you need to be getting back home, Julia?" asked Roxanne.

"It's girls' night out. Alan doesn't expect me home until after midnight. They are his children, too, after all. It's good for him to have time to bond with them."

Well, I'm not really interested in going out to a bar."

"Let's just go back to your place then. It's not like I want any more alcohol. I'm driving after all. One glass of wine with dinner is about my max for the evening. Come on, it will save you the price of taxi fare back to your apartment. If you're tired, I won't stay long."

Roxanne felt guilty about the fact that what she wanted to do was to be alone as soon as possible so she could call Megamind. She told herself it was no big deal if she called a little later than she had indicated to him. She would let Julia stay for 45 minutes or so, and make some excuse to get her to leave. "Sure, sounds fine. Let's go."

Back at the apartment, Roxanne said, "I'm getting myself a glass of wine. Anything I can get you?"

"Just some water."

Facing each other as they settled onto the couch, Roxanne tried to take control of the conversation, asking more questions about Julia's work, her husband's business, and the kids. Julia went along with the ploy, but eventually decided it was time to be direct. "Roxanne, I know it's not my business, except for the fact that we've been friends a long time, and you know I care about you and what's going on with you. You don't owe me any explanations, and I don't expect you to tell me anything that you're not ready to share. But I am concerned about you. The way you acted earlier, it's just not like you. You know you can trust me. When you finally shared with me about that little escapade with Megamind that happened three months ago, I never told anyone, not even Tina. You told me yourself, it helped to talk about it." Julia noted that when she mentioned the incident with Megamind, Roxanne's eyes widened, and she looked a little nervous, but then her face went blank. Julia filed this away for future reference, but said nothing about it. "So if there's something going on that's bothering you, or upsetting you, I wish you would talk to me, and let me help you. Even if all I can do is just be a sounding board." She watched the indecision on Roxanne's face, and could tell she was wavering back and forth.

"I don't even know where to start."

"How about, whatever part is easiest to share?"

And then the tone went off, indicating a text message on Roxanne's phone. "Go ahead, take care of it. I can wait." Roxanne gave a sheepish grin, and took the phone out of her purse. She read:

"IT'S BEEN AN HOUR. SORRY TO BE IMPATIENT. STILL NOT SPYING. ARE YOU ALRIGHT? M"

Roxanne looked up to see Julia smiling at her. "Go on, answer it." Roxanne typed:

"SORRY. IN MY APARTMENT WITH GIRLFRIEND, TALKING. DON'T KNOW HOW LONG IT WILL BE. WILL CALL AS SOON AS SHE LEAVES. R"

Once Roxanne put her phone away, Julia asked, "So Tina was right, at least part of this has to do with some guy? The guy who's texting you?"

"OK. Here's the story, or at least part of it. When I got back to my apartment building after the charity event, there was someone here waiting for me. I'm going to call him... Michael. That's not his real name. He was someone I met through... work. He wanted to talk to me. Actually, he basically tricked me. At first he said he wanted to talk to me about things related to... work."

"Do you mean he works at the station?"

"No. Let's just say that we met through my work as a reporter."

"So you've interviewed him, like for a story?"

"Something like that, yes, I met him through my reporting work. Anyways, it turned out that, instead of wanting to talk to me about... work, his work, my work, doesn't matter, he really wanted... to see whether I was interested in...dating him."

"So you stayed up late talking in your apartment?"

"No... he... convinced me... to go to his place. At first the interaction was really bizarre, and I'll admit he said some things that kind of... unnerved me. He's really kind of an eccentric person. But he showed sides of himself I'd never seen before when we only had... professional interactions. He was charming. He made himself vulnerable, and he was really rather... sweet. He kind of …..came on to me and I found myself ….responding to him." Roxanne found to her consternation that she was blushing. "I was surprised at myself."

"Let me guess. He's brilliant, and kind of geeky."

"How did you know?"

Julia gave a short laugh. "Roxanne, that's all you're ever interested in. Except for that one guy on the baseball team in college, and that turned into a fiasco. Remember, I believed you right away when you said you weren't dating Metro Man. Unless he had some hidden depths not obvious on TV, I knew he wasn't your type."

Roxanne smiled. "You do know me pretty well."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's complicated."

"So what part of complicated can you tell me?"

Roxanne sighed. "A part of it, and it's only a small part, I'll admit, is my public image. People, most people, believe that I'm dating Metro Man, no matter how often I deny it. If it comes out that I'm dating someone else, I'm not sure what that would do to my career."

"I can't believe that that's the real problem. I can't believe you would let public opinion sway you from being in a relationship if it makes you happy."

"Busted. You're right, that's not the real issue." She sighed again. "All right. I don't even know for sure what's going to happen. Do we ever know what's going to happen when we first start dating someone? We have our first real date planned for tomorrow night. That's why he's texting me, we're trying to work out the details. The problem is... the problem is that he's done some... shady things... in the past. Oh, all right, I'll say it. He's done some time in prison…. He's out now." (And she crossed her fingers mentally, thinking, He was out; he just did it by breaking out.) "He's been out for a while." (Like maybe 4 months.) "And he's not doing anything criminal now." (I hope.) "But you can see how, with my very public job, if it got out I was dating someone with a criminal record, that could be a problem."

"Yes, I understand. But he hasn't done anything really horrible, right? Not murder, not bank robbery, not anything like that?"

"No, nothing quite like that." (Just terrorizing the city, tearing up buildings while he fights Metro Man, just minor infractions like that.)

"But you're attracted to him? Enough that you're even considering dating him, despite his history?"

Roxanne nodded her head. But then blurted out, "Am I crazy?"

Julia shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know him. I don't know if his good qualities outweigh anything that he's done in the past. I don't know if he's truly reformed. But isn't that supposed to be the other purpose of incarceration, not just punishment, but reforming people. If people truly change, and are remorseful, shouldn't they be forgiven? Shouldn't people be given the opportunity to remake their lives?"

Roxanne thought for a moment, then smiled. "Thank you, Julia. You won't believe how much it helped me to hear you say that. I was already thinking that I needed to talk with him about his past and how he's changed, to assure myself that he could possibly be someone I could be with long-term."

"So, is 'Michael' someone I would recognize by sight, or at least the real name?"

Roxanne flushed, but said nothing. "I guess that's my answer. You know, I'm burning up with curiosity over here, but I won't ask." After a pause, Julia added, "Hint, hint."

"No, not anywhere close to being ready to share his name."

"Okay. Anything else you ready to share about this beginning relationship?" Roxanne shook her head. "All right, I did have one other concern. The few times we've talked, you have seemed more relaxed in the last two months. Have you finally stopped worrying about Megamind retaliating? Or are you still having nightmares?" Julia narrowed her eyes; why was this question flustering Roxanne? She was twisting her fingers, moving restlessly.

"No, no, I'm fine."

"You don't look like you're fine. Why does this question bother you?" She had a sudden inspiration. "Have you heard from him?" Julia was surprised when Roxanne laughed; it had a mildly hysterical quality to it.

When she stopped laughing, Roxanne gazed at Julia and said, "You do have a remarkable talent for getting right to the point of things. As a matter of fact, I did hear from Megamind just recently. For two whole months I thought he might be gone for good."

Julia looked stricken. "Oh, Roxanne, I'm so sorry. What did he say?"

Roxanne gave that hysterical laugh again. "You'll never believe it. He told me, he told me he would never kidnap me again."

"Do you believe him?"

"Funny enough, given some other things he said, and no, I'm not going to tell you, I do believe him."

"So that's good, right?"

"Yes, that's good. But the contact was disconcerting all the same."

"I can imagine."

"And now, Julia, I'm going to ask you to go home. Thank you for cornering me and getting me to talk. But I've said all I'm comfortable with for now."

"Glad to be of assistance. Oh, you know Tina is going to call me and try to pump me for information. What am I allowed to tell her?"

Roxanne considered. "That I'm starting to date somebody, someone I previously had a professional relationship with. That there are complications because of his past, and that he showed up at my apartment right after the charity ball. That's it. Oh, and if she starts pestering me at work for more information, I will not only clam up about the present, I'll never tell her anything about what happens in the future."

"Got it. And now I'll leave, so you can call your new beau, which I'm sure you are itching to do. Good night, Roxanne."

The door to her apartment had barely closed, when she had her phone out, and Roxanne was entering his number.

"Ollo, I mean, hello."

"Hi, it's me."

"Of course, no one else would call me; who else would have this number?"

"Just wait until you start getting wrong number calls. Never mind. So, no spying, huh?"

"Yes, it was hard, but I'm trying to be good."

"What made it hard, force of habit?"

"Maybe in part. But mostly, I now realize… how much it reassured me… to have you under constant surveillance. Not doing it today, I started to worry… whether you were safe, wondering about what was happening with you. Of course, in the past, the only threat to you... was usually me. Although, I was never really a threat to your safety, just your social plans." There was a pause. "I hope that doesn't disturb you too much, to know how much I was watching you."

"I'll admit it's a little disconcerting. I appreciate that you've stopped. Anyway, have you thought about what you would like to do tomorrow?"

"Yes. But I am more concerned about what you would like to do."

"I would like to hear your suggestions first."

"There are two lists. The first list involves activities that would require me to go in disguise. I have a device to provide that. Also, if, as a local celebrity, you have any concern about being seen going out with someone other than, ahem, the person your public expects, I could provide a similar device for you. The second list is of activities that would not require a disguise for either of us."

"Let's hear the second list. I prefer the idea of our first official date being as ourselves."

"As do I. It's nice to know we think alike. All right. Number one: we could go on a picnic in a secluded location that I know. Number two: when it's dark enough, we could go stargazing. I have a rather good telescope that's portable. Number three: we could go on a hike in a remote location, taking the disguise devices as a backup in case we run into anyone. Number four: we could have dinner, take out, at your apartment. Number five: we could take a long drive in the invisible car. Number six: we could take a flight on the hoverbike, which, as I'm sure you recall, also has the invisibility shield. Number seven: we could go boating on that lake north of the city. It's a bit of a drive, or flight, to get there, but if you're interested, we could do it."

"I'm assuming you would be all right if we combine several of those."

"Of course. Which ones appeal to you?"

"Hmmm…Pick me up on the hoverbike. We'll go for a ride, ending up in that location for the picnic. If it's a dark sky site, then we can also do the stargazing. Oh, the telescope, maybe that wouldn't work."

"I'll make it work. So, I'll pick you up as soon as it gets dark. It's not too late for dinner?"

"No, it still gets dark pretty early."

"Then I will see you as darkness falls." He paused. "I'm very much looking forward to seeing you again."

"I am... looking forward to it also. Good night."

"Good night. Sleep well." He refrained from adding, "My love."

Megamind knew he needed to have a conversation with Minion. He tracked him down in the kitchen of the Lair. Minion tended to do a lot of baking when he was distressed. Megamind got right to the point. "Minion, we need to talk." Minion stopped what he was doing, and sat in a chair. But he didn't say anything. Megamind couldn't settle, but walked around the room as he began. "I expect that you are upset, maybe even angry, with me. I didn't tell you the whole truth about my plans. I haven't been telling you the truth for the last three months. I did not tell you because I was sure you would not approve of my initial plans, possibly to the point of not only not helping, but maybe even choosing to undermine them. And you would've been right to have done so."

Minion finally spoke. "When I found you, tied to the chair, you were so angry, angrier than I've ever seen you. And when I released you, you stormed around the Lair, and said such terrible things about Miss Ritchi. I was afraid, afraid for the first time, that you might actually... hurt her. I knew that, if you did, later you would regret it. But I didn't know what to do. Then you seemed to go into such a deep depression. It worried me, when you stopped eating, and wouldn't come out of your room for days. Finally, when you did come out, I knew you weren't telling me the truth. You've never done that before. So I was still worried."

"And for that, I truly apologize. So now I'm going to tell you what's been going on, and what will be going on." Megamind wouldn't look Minion in the eye. He explained what his plan had been initially, how it changed over time, and how, now, his plan was to court Roxanne.

Minion was quiet at first, but then replied "I'm still concerned about how you will take it if your plan doesn't succeed. Not that I'm predicting failure, mind you," he hastened to add.

Megamind laughed briefly. "I don't have high hopes for the success of this plan either. But then, when has that ever stopped me? So, Minion, would you assist me in this plan, or would you prefer to... remain uninvolved? I would not fault you if you would choose the latter."

"Oh no, Sir, I would like to help. Tell me what I can do."

"Excellent. Here is what I would like..."

AUTHOR NOTES:

Sorry if, after Revenge, you were expecting more dark and edgy. Hope you're not disappointed. My Megamind has moved on, along with me. We're all about change now. But if you want to watch him grow and develop, come along for the ride. (Well, there's a little edginess planned for Part 3, but nothing like Revenge.)

Chapter 2 -coming soon. My goal is to update at least weekly until the three story arc is complete (because when I'm reading a story, I hate waiting a long time for updates).

If you liked this, feedback/ reviews would be greatly appreciated.