Megamind couldn't decide if he was slightly put off or turned on by how easily it had been to revert to his previous nature. It had been there a while now, this anger, escaping when he was away from those he loved. Namely, Roxanne and Minion. He was angry with store clerks and other drivers, hell, he was even angry whenever Minion made him a sandwich on particularly bad days and it didn't quite come out right. But the truth is, his life needed changing for the better, because there was more going into this big brain of his and body than he could handle and still be the new and improved Megamind, Defender of Metrocity.

The screaming had stopped so very suddenly. It was one of Icos' other top lieutenants, some purple slimy creep named Valug. What a dumb name, a stupid name, the blue alien thought darkly. One minute, he'd been right in Megamind's face, more alive than ever, and then the next he was meat on the floor. He had brought the gun tucked in his pocket, having shrunk it down to size prior to being beamed aboard the ship. The gun was just insurance, really, a way to make things cool off when things got heated. He'd gotten the other work from the outlet store in Romania, discreetly, of course, and there would be hell to pay if and when Roxanne ever found out he'd bought a weapon and didn't disclose the information to her, but she was pregnant, he was about to become a father, and he would be the first to admit he would feel remiss if they didn't have at least one means of defending themselves in their house. Megamind had received it only a few days ago, before they'd left for her parents' house, its numbers filed off, untraceable apparently. Before his blood had congealed, he had formulated his big villain monologue, what he would say to that bastard, Icos, when he finally confronted the shit that had kidnapped Roxanne, and he was surprised at how easy it was to dispatch the lieutenant.

A little squeeze of his finger and the other alien was dead. Less trouble than peeling an orange. He was also taken aback by how little it bothered her; apparently he was just faking being good after all. "ICOS!" he bellowed. He rounded the corner, heading for the ship's main bridge, and found himself face-to-face with the man himself. "Take that off!" he snarled through clenched teeth.

The commander was still wearing his human disguise. A snake disguised as a man, what are the odds, he thought darkly, chuckling darkly to himself. The cold look reflected on Icos' human face, in those almost black eyes of his, gave the alien the shudders. He seemed to have no sense of humanity, but then, why would he? He'd not lived among them. His heart seemed to be made of stone, the way he had so brutally taken Roxanne and kept her prisoner, tortured her for a decision.

He knew as he looked into the alien's eyes that he would never forget the evil glint in his beady black eyes, or how he smelled. He smelt of blood.

Of danger.

Megamind had never thrown a punch before with his bare hands, so he was incredibly surprised at the pain that blazed up his arm as his fist connected with Commander Icos' jaw. He threw his body weight behind the fist that edged closer to his face; it hit Megamind's jaw with such force that green blood pooled into his mouth. Pain erupted from the point of impact. With his own two hands, he grasped Icos' head in his hands and brought his kneecap up to his nose, there was a blunt crack and he released his dark-haired head. Crimson leaked from both his nostrils and his nose was twisted right. Megamind drew back his fist again and it ploughed into Icos' stomach, like hitting a train head on.

His guts smashed together, blood vessels bursting as Icos' fist met Megamind's stomach. He repaid this by punching his jaw; his fist colliding with all his body weight. Megamind continued this battering until Icos fell to the floor. His chest gently rose and sank with each shallow breath he drew in. Panting heavily, Megamind stood victorious over the commander, feeling adrenaline surge through his bloodstream, changing him.

"You came for Roxanne and now it's war. You come for her again; I'll stand in the way. You taunt her, threaten or come near her, and I will end you. I will show you every ounce of my power because I love my wife. Love. Something you can't even begin to comprehend, or you wouldn't be contemplating killing the Earth. SHE'S MY WIFE! I'll break every bone in your damn body before you ever lay a finger on her again. I'm going to kill you, you bastard. And there's no going quick for you," he snarled, picking up Icos by the scruff of his collar of his uniform, and a startled holler broke him out of the moment.

"NO!" A woman's voice. Roxanne. "STOP! DON'T DO THIS, M, STOP IT!"

He froze, turning around, Icos still in his clutches, with a furtive guilty look on his face as he dared to turn around and face his wife. "Roxy," he whispered, immensely relieved to see she was alive and awake, and then his anger resurfaced. "How did you get up there? She's on board! How did she get on board? MINION! GET OUT HERE!" he shouted, knowing all too well who was to blame for her getting out. The robotic fish was looking incredibly guilty and threw him a charming sheepish little grin. "Don't try to pull me in with that adorable face of yours, it won't work!" shouted Megamind, in no mood for these games. "Why'd you let her escape? You—" but he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as Roxanne's lips brushed against his. Not innocently, like a tease, but hot, fiery and demanding. He couldn't blame her, really. She had almost died, after all.

His wife broke apart last and pulled back slightly from his embrace to study his face. "I can't let you do this," she pleaded desperately, wrenching his gun out of his hands and tossing it aside to Osa, who'd been standing on the bridge, terrified. "If you kill him, you're no better than Icos, and what does that make you?" she demanded angrily.

"A villain," he whispered, feeling a sinking feeling deep within the pits of his stomach. "Oh, God, what have I done?" he moaned, not able to look at the battered, beaten alien on the floor. "This is all my fault, Roxy!"

"Shush," she soothed him, stroking his goatee with her thumb and forefinger, that, were he in a better mood, would drive him crazy, but there would be time enough for that later. "It wasn't your fault. He provoked you. What should we do with him?" she asked, turning to Osa.

The other alien looked at a loss, but quickly recovered, feeling the beginnings of the leader Megamind had sensed was in there all along, just needed the right time to coax it out. "He's a prisoner. My people will take him back to our home planet, where he will face judgment for his crimes. Our kind does not tolerate attempted murder lightly, it is quite possible he will face execution for what he has done, but he made his choice, and every choice has a consequence. This is his. Thank you for not killing him," he added, turning to Megamind, outstretching his human hand. "Peace? I'd like for our two species to learn how to coexist peacefully? My wife is still down there, somewhere on Earth. I promised her I'd find her and bring her home, but if you're okay with it, I'd like to discuss the possibility of a truce?" he asked, biting his lip.

Megamind let out a huge sigh of relief and felt his shoulders relax. He hadn't realized he'd been so tense. The blue alien shot a charming charismatic grin Osa's way and glanced at Roxanne. "Talk to her about it," he joked. "She's Earth's Ambassador, after all, aren't you, Roxy?" he grinned, draping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close, closing off the gap of space between the two of them. "What's your verdict?" he asked, solemn now.

Roxanne fell silent for a minute, thinking. "To build a better world we need to consciously design a better environment for all of humanity, one in which all the choices we have are good options. What we have now is a dynamic that makes people sick and then blames them for being sick. This world of fear and coercion can be swapped for one of love and cooperation, a world that brings us all health and happiness in all our different and wonderful cultures. We don't need a new world order. We don't need one world government. What we need to do is act like a family, one family of mankind, helps one another, bring the most disadvantaged into health and wellbeing. We shouldn't be "shooting for the stars" until our home world is healed. We are each other's priorities; we are our brother's keepers; we are the rightful custodians of Mother Earth, and we'd like to share it with your species if you would like to remain here," she said at last.

Osa nodded, holding out his hand for her to shake. "True," he said calmly.

They shook hands. Osa grinned, turning to the three of them. "Care for me to send you home?" he asked, joking, as the three of them stepped onto the transporter pads. "It's quick!"

Roxanne grinned, shooting him a thumbs up. "Beam us down, Scotty!" she chirped happily, laughing at the alien's quizzical, confused look.

"Oh, I understand that reference!" Minion called out as they were beamed back down to Earth, where they belonged.

"You did it," Megamind said quietly, once Minion had gone to another room to assess the damage and assemble the Brain Bots to begin repairing the damage to the city the alien ships had caused. "You won."

Roxanne grinned. "I had a reason to win," she quoted, echoing his own words back at him. "You."

He laughed and pulled her close, capturing her mouth with his in a gentle kiss. He kissed her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.

"Holy shit, Sophia! This—this really hurts! God, Soph, when I do get that spinal tap thing?" I moaned, pacing her hospital room restlessly. The pain of my contractions during my labor was a prison for my mind. In the last few months of my pregnancy had gone so smoothly, up to this part. In that jail cell of fear and confusion, the time passed without me being able to keep track. My stomach tightened, I heard my own scream without being made aware of making it.

"It's called a spinal block, and you can't have it yet, Roxy, the doctor said you're not dilated enough," our midwife piped up, wearing her set of maroon scrubs. I had insisted on my best friend acting as my midwife and nurse for the birth of our kid. Megamind was looking absolutely terrified. "I have to wait for it to get worse? Why can't I have it now?" I groaned, letting out another piercing scream. "SOPHIA!" I shouted. My best friend wasn't fazed by my haunting screams.

She sighed, pulling her hair into a loose side French braid. "Honey, doctors are sadists who like to play God and watch lesser people scream," Sophia sighed.

I lay still as Sophia administered the medication, waiting for the agony to subside. In times to come, I would forget these moments as effectively as formatting a hard drive, but always I would recall the love I felt for my baby, our precious child. Mine. With each contraction came a pain that dominated my entire being. In those moments, for those seconds that stretched into infinity, there was nothing else. I could hear sounds coming from the room, were they mine? When the pain passed it was only for a minute or so and I breathed with closed eyes, unwilling to re-engage with life outside of my own body. The room might as well have been empty for all the awareness I had, and when they did talk, touch, gain my attention, I found it hard. To reply, I had to find myself from the deepest recesses and drag myself forward to use my own voice, open my eyes.

Sophia leaned over the bed railing and put her face in front of mine, wet with tears from the pain of it all. "You can do this, Roxy," she said firmly. "You can do this, and you will. It's time," she commanded, her tone harsh but loving.

"I—I can't," I panted, exhausted, collapsing back against the pillow, my bangs drenched in sweat.

"Hey, hey, none of that," Megamind encouraged, holding my hand and not protesting as I gripped it tight enough to make a face. "You can do this."

I glared at Megamind. "Make it stop!" I cried, not caring who saw my tears. "Please, M, make it go away!" I wailed. "I—I can't take this anymore."

"You know I would if I could," he soothed, leaning over to kiss my forehead. "But I can't. You can do this, honey. Just—just do what Sophia tells you and push. It's almost over, and when it is, we can hold our baby." After sixteen hours of labor, we were all exhausted. Sophia, me, and the father-to-be, who was facing zero-hour with the dawning realization that he was unwanted, that right now, his wife wanted Sophia and the other attending nurse much more than she wanted him.

"I want you to get behind Roxy," Sophia told him calmly, "and brace her back. Roxanne, I want you to look at me, focus on my face right here, and give me another push. Keep pushing, keep pushing, that's it!"

Sophia was telling me that it was time, time to push. With a guttural grunt, I did so and bore down, losing all sense of myself in the effort to create someone else. I was told to stop. Three was enough. I felt the baby crowning and the hot stretching of flesh and held my breath. Without any further effort, the baby slid into the hands of the midwife. There was elation, a girl at last, and in seconds she was there, and eyes opening, mouth rooting for milk. I looked into those new eyes, a new consciousness, perfect and reaching out for her love. In that instant, I knew I would do anything to protect my child, that my love was as vast as the universe yet solid as a rock. I was a mother and would always be.

"Hold on a second," Sophia spoke up, her brows knitted together in a frown as she pressed down on my stomach. "I feel something," she said.

I stared. "What? What is it?" I demanded, having eyes only for our new daughter.

Sophia looked up, a startled look in her brown orbs. "Did anyone tell you that you were having twins?"

"Huh?" I exclaimed, stupefied. I turned to Megamind, who was looking equally ecstatic and happy.

"You hear that, honey? Twins!" he said delightedly.

I sighed, rocking their new daughter in my arms. "That's nice," I said matter-of-factly. "But I'm not pushing another one out," I snapped angrily.

Sophia laughed. "Oh, I think I can get you to change your mind." Forty minutes later, she'd delivered a healthy baby boy. "Congratulations, you two. Really."

"They're perfect. You're perfect," Megamind said quietly, holding our new daughter in his arms, swaddled in a bright pink blanket, blue for our son. He reached over and placed a brief but passionate kiss on my lips. "What should we name them?" he asked softly.

"I still can't believe it," I whispered. Our son began to cry in my arms. "Hey little buddy, it's Mommy," I whispered. "Guess it's name time."

"Yeah, I've been re-thinking those Star Wars names," joked Megamind, cradling our daughter and nuzzling her tiny little face with his cheek.

I stared at our son in my arms. "Oh, I don't know about that, hon," I piped up happily. "How about Luke?" I suggested, biting her lip.

"Luke," he said slowly. "Lukey, meet your sister. Your sister…." His voice paused, trailing off.

"We gotta narrow it down to six!" I laughed.

"Can I add a seventh?" pleaded Megamind playfully.

"Seriously?" I laughed. "What are you thinking?" I asked, stroking our son's face with my finger. "We're your parents, Luke. That's Daddy," I whispered, handing our son off to Megamind so I could hold our daughter and he could hold his son. "Seriously, M, she needs a name.

"Any ideas?" he asked, looking dazed, but years younger and happier than I had ever seen him.

I bit my lip again, hesitating. "I only had one name in mind. I was thinking we could call our daughter Ayla," I whispered. "After your mom," I said.

Megamind fell silent, a muscle in his jaw twitching. After a second, he nodded silently. "Ayla and Luke Ritchie. I like it." The new parents wanted to drink this moment in, this moment with their twins in their arms. Their eyes are more brilliant than they could have dreamed they would be, their tiny little hands more delicate. The babies felt so light, looked so perfect, and smelled so divine. Perfect. Megamind and Roxanne would be their protectors for as long as they lived and their love for the children would last for all time.

"Until the end of the world."