Part 1

Hey, only heaven saw

the tears I cried on the day I met you

-Chris Rice "Let the Words Escape"

Roxanne walked in to the news building. This was her new work place now. She could hardly wait to get started! She got to be an on-scene reporter! This was amazing! She couldn't believe she had finally made it this far!

"Ms. Ritchi?" a voice said. Roxanne turned to her new boss, who gave her a small pile of papers. "Just let me say welcome to the new floor of the news station. Here is a report on Metroman. We want you to go and get an interview with him."

"Absolutely! No problem Mr. Sitch!" Roxanne gladly took the papers on him.

"Wonderful! Your new partner, Hal Stewart, is in the news van in front of the building. We've already arranged an interview place and what you are to ask Metroman. Please go down immediately. Mr. Stewart will know where to go."

"Yes. Thank you sir! I'll go right now!" Roxanne turned and quickly walked to the elevator of the building and clicked the lobby button. Her heart beat with excitement. Metroman! She would be the one to get a first interview with him!

Metroman was the new hero of the city who had been stopping criminals left and right, bringing in the wanted and the unjust. All of the criminals were piling up in the jail. They'd have to get a bigger one soon.

With a half smirk, Roxanne stepped out of the elevator as it came to the floor she waited for and walked out to the van where she saw her new partner, Hal Stewart.

His hair was a floppy red mess. He was big, wore a vest and an extra large T that read 'Bite me' on the front. Some pins were planted on the vest. Hal seemed to be the type of guy you would think of playing video games all day, Roxanne speculated to herself.

Hal smiled when Roxanne stepped out of the building and he held out his hand. "Hey, I'm Hal. Guess we're partners now."

"Yes. Pleasure to meet you Mr. Stewart." Roxanne shook his large hands. "I'm Roxanne Ritchi."

"Nice to meet you to, and Hal's just fine, thanks," he smiled, one thought rotating in the redhead's mind. "I got a hot partner. Sweet!"

Roxanne jumped in the passenger seat of the van while Hal got in and started driving. "So, interview with Metroman, huh? You excited?" Hal finally broke the silence after a few awkward moments.

"Well, kind of," Roxanne admitted. She was slightly nervous about talking to the city's newest hero, but mostly just because she was afraid of her reaction to him. She didn't want to be one of those girls that completely obsessed over someone. That was just embarrassing. She was a professional news reporter now. She didn't want to scare Metroman away. "Kind of nervous," she told Hal.

"That's understandable. He's like, super huge," Hal said, stopping the car for a light. "What do you think of him?"

Roxanne shrugged and looked out the window, "I don't know. From what we know about him, he's a guy trying to bring justice in to the world, because sometimes the law we've created isn't enough."

Hal nodded once, not able to think of a response to that. Finally he came up with as he started driving again, "Yeah, it's totally messed up."

Roxanne pulled some hair behind her ear. The waves of brown fell down past her shoulders, and she grimaced in irritation as she pulled it in to a messy ponytail. Dang it. She hated long hair. It drove her crazy. She came to the decision to go to the hair cut place and just chop it all off. Heck, Roxanne even had half a mind to do it herself.

"Where is he?" Hal said in irritation as he looked at his watch. "We have to hurry and get this done so we can have enough time to edit it."

Roxanne murmured her agreement and she looked up as the door to the empty cafe opened and the tall, strong, and very handsome Metroman walked in. His wavy black hair curled just perfectly and he walked over to the table where Roxanne sat. She felt her heart flutter when she looked at him, but the corner of her lip twitched irritibly as he winked at her.

"Oh. So he's one of those people," she thought to herself. "Cocky guy who knows how to charm the girls." But Roxanne put on her happy smile. "Hello Mr. Metroman. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Roxanne Ritchi from News Channel 8."

"Miss Ritchi it is a pleasure to meet you. And so formal too." Metroman took her hand and gently in his own and pressed his lips to it. He looked up, "May I call you Roxie?"

Flustered, Roxanne looked over him and wasn't able to find an answer. Internally she felt a twinge. She hated that nickname. Why did everyone want to call her Roxie? Jeez . . .

But she launched in to the interview like a good little reporter girl. She asked him questions like, "How did you get your powers? You came from an alien race from another planet? How interesting. Do you remember anything? How old were you when you were sent here?"

Roxanne thought to herself, "This guy is a total quack. From another planet? Seriously? But still, with everything he can do, it very well may be possible. He's like a living breathing Superman. Came from another planet and gets all of these amazing powers. . . it doesn't sound like a good reason for the powers, but, it must be true, weird as it sounds."

"I was raised as a normal human child was," Metroman told her. "I went to school, got an education, and once I graduated I became the new superhero I am today."

"What was your first battle?" she asks, getting more and more interested. A real live alien superhero. Weird and exciting.

"My first battle was with Megamind," he told her.

"Megamind?"

"Yes. He came from a planet next to mine and we've sort of been rivals ever since. I've known him since I was a baby all the way to now. We don't really see eye to eye. He's evil, I'm good. You understand how that works."

"This just gets weirder and weirder," Roxanne thought to herself as she scribbled this down. "Interesting. I've never even heard of him," she told the superhero.

"Well Roxie, not many people have. He hasn't really become a super villain yet. He's only done small stuff as far as I know."

"Which isn't very much either I bet," she thought to herself. She winced at her nickname. She wanted him to stop saying it but she was to polite to ask him not to. But yeah this Metroman guy was interesting in some ways, but he really was extremely self centered. And flirty. He kept throwing winks and dazzling smiles at her which sent chills shivering up her back. "Hopefully we won't have to worry about meeting him and he'll just stay on the small stuff," she says, smiling at him. She looked at her watch distractedly. "It seems thats all the questions I have." She kept up the smile and stood up. He stood too and shook her hand firmly.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Roxie. I hope I get to see you again." He once more kissed her hand and bid her farewell, thanking her for the wonderful interview.

"Ready to go Roxie?" Hal said. Roxanne grit her teeth together. "Not you too Hal!" she thought.

"Yeah. Let's go," she said.

Back in the news van, Hal asked, "So what do you think of him now that you've got to meet him?" Hal aks, eying her as she drives.

"He's very charming," Roxanne said. "He's that kind of person that's very. . . I don't know. . . charismatic perhaps? It's not going to be long before he has his own fan club." She scoffed silently to herself.

"I suppose so," Hal said. He glanced at her warily. "So. . . do you like him?"

Roxanne was able to catch the double meaning of his words. She answered subtly, "Like I said, he's okay."

Hal took this as a rejection and he almost instantly brightened. "Great then! Hey do you want to come over to my house later? I just got a new video game! Vampires and Aliens 2. Wanna come over?"

"I just met you today," Roxanne thought, staring at him for a moment in a strange shock. She answered carefully. "Not tonight Hal, but thanks. I want to just go home and relax right now, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess." Hal wasn't able to hide his disappointment.

Roxanne felt another shiver run up her spine and an inside voice told her. "Be gentle when you reject his offers. He could take it the wrong way and he could react badly if you're too harsh. You're treading deeper water now Roxanne. Be careful."

Roxanne decided to trust this inside voice.

Later that night while Roxanne went in to her apartment, she was unaware of the eyes watching her.

One figure, much smaller than the one next to him, folded his hands together. His green eyes shined in the darkness. He had been watching her ever since the interview earlier that day. "This is an unexpected turn of events, but extremely predictable. This is clearly a Superman story my dear Minion. We have just been introduced to our Lois Lane. And I get to be the dashingly charming Lex Luth-or."

"I see sir. What are you going to do with her?" the tall silhouette behind him asked.

The green eyed man laughed softly. "You shall see Minion. Just wait and see. All in good time. All. . . in good time."

The next day, the news station played the interview with Roxanne and Metroman. Her boss praised her great work and she thanked him repeatedly. Hal was the same, and he kept trying to hug her while congratulating her on her first great success as a reporter. She declined.

"Thanks, really," she smiled shyly.

Then later that day when she was leaving work, a tall figure came up in front of her. Dressed in his normal white clothing, Metroman came to Roxanne from the skies. "Hey Roxie," he said. She grit her teeth when he said her new nickname. "How are you? Congratulations on the interview."

"Thanks Metroman. It's really mostly because of you we got so many viewers," she told him, putting on her best happy fake smile.

"You looking beautiful probably helped much more than I," he complimented her.

"Thanks," she blushed at his compliment fired right back at her. She wasn't impressed with his compliments. She was actually kind of annoyed. She knew instantly that the hero had a crush on her, unless he flirted to every woman he met like this.

"Would you like a fly home?" he asked her, giving her his most charming smile. Yup. He definitely had a crush on her.

"No thanks." It didn't matter. His pompous flirting with her meant nothing. "I can walk from here."

"Are you sure? It's no trouble, I promise," he said, hovering slightly above her, his feet a few inches off of the ground. His eyes looked over her, waiting for her response.

"I'm absolutely sure. Don't worry," Roxanne said as she started in at a more brisk pace.

And with that, she left the hero.

The blue alien watched the scene from his invisible car. His partner sat in the front looking at them as well. "Tell me her name again, Minion," the blue skinned one said. He folded his fingers together, eyes narrowing almost to slits.

"Yes sir, her name is Miss Roxanne Ritchi. She's lived in Metro her entire life. . . and she just got promoted in work as an on-scene reporter."

The one known as Minion looks over to his master when he recalls, "And the one with the red-orange hair. Who is that?"

"Oh, that, sir, is Hal Stewart. He works with Miss Ritchi. He drives the news van around to places where they make their reports." Minion didn't even have to look at the papers. He had memorized everything about this girl.

The alien called 'Sir' leaned closer to the window so his face was almost pressed up to it. "She is beautiful isn't she?" he asks.

Minion looks over to her. "I suppose she would be by human standards." Then he looked to his master curiously, "Sir, do you find her attractive?"

"In a few ways yes, but she isn't my species, so we need not worry over things as trivial as women." The master seemed to had jumped out of his more melancholy and serious mode and was once again the happy and joyous master that Minion was used to, except when fighting Metroman.

"Let us go back to the evil lair," he directed Minion. "A week. Prepare the lair for Miss Ritchi to join us. That day she will feel the fear and wrath of the incredibly handsome criminal genius and master of all villainy. . . Megamind!"

Megamind let out a dark laugh as Minion let out a resounding, "Yes sir!" and drove back to the lair.

But as they were starting to drive off, Megamind ceased his laughing and glanced out the window where Metroman was hovering close to Roxanne, the two of them talking together. Megamind watched her for a moment and speculated to himself, "She is quite beautiful. And her hair is so long. I wonder what it would look like short. Oh well."

Then he turned himself around in the seat and leaned his head back. Yes. This time. This is the time that he would defeat Metroman.

Roxanne excused herself from Metroman's company saying it was late and she wanted to get home so she could start making dinner for herself and some friends who were coming over, and she politely declined Metroman coming over as well, though he did offer to help make dinner.

"Would this self centered narcissist even be able to make a sandwhich without doing something to grab attention?" Roxanne thought to herself as she walked away from Metroman, who was long gone when she glanced back to see if he was still there.

Of course what she said about friends coming over was a complete and utter lie. She didn't really have any friends. Once he left college most of them had gotten married or pregnant and didn't have any time to maintain a friendship. And most of them had moved out of the city, or out of the city limits at least.

"Once again another lonely night for Miss Roxanne Ritchi. Sometimes I wish I could actually have someone normal to talk to or something. I want to have something happen maybe. I don't know. . ." her thoughts trailed off quietly as she walked home. There was no pitch blackness here. It was the city and lights were shining all the time.

When she got home she came in and collapsed on her bed, not pulling off her clothes until several minutes of silent lying down. She got in to her silk pajamas and sloshed down a cupful of water, not pausing to take in a breath. When she finished she tossed it in the sink and went back in to her room and fell on to the bed, her breathing coming in quiet gasps. Her eyes closed as she waited for sleep to come to her. She reached over a hand and clicked a button to her CD player, turning on some music. Music always helped her to go to sleep sometimes. She would never admit it though, she thought that was a childish thing. People would probably make fun of her if she said anything like that.

Her mind flickered to Hal and Metroman. Both were interested in her. The creeper and the superhero. Why was it she never got anyone normal to talk to? Anyone normal to be with? At least she got that nice interview with Metroman to help her get a good reputation at work. Sometimes to her it felt like work was all she was ever able to think or do.

Hey only Heaven saw

the tears I cried on the day I met you.

That lyric entered her mind and Roxanne suddenly came to a conclusion, a now entertained thought on her brain. She had an idea, like a challenge for herself, in a way. Just like that lyric, she decided that she would find the one she was truly meant to be with when she cried on the same day she met him. That had to work. It's not every day you cry on the same day you meet someone right?

In her mind, it was settled. She closed her eyes more peacefully now and settled in to a deep and dreamless sleep.

Just outside in an invisible car on the street sat Megamind. Minion was back at the evil lair, getting some sleep. He didn't know about Sir's wanderings at night, and probably never would. Megamind made sure that his night whereabouts were kept completely secret. Driving alone at night was like some sort of piece of mind to him, to let him relax and just focus on driving and nothing else.

Tonight he watched his soon-to-be kidnapee get ready for bed. He watched outside for several minutes when the light was turned off. Then he got out of his invisible car and walked in to the building, dehydrating the doorman when he wasn't looking and proceeded up the elevator. He had to search Ms. Ritchi's room area so he would be able to better understand this woman. After all, he was about to become quite acquainted with her, and he needed to know any weaknesses she had so he could get her to be quiet in a time of need.

The first thing Megamind learned about her was that she was a very . . . organized person. She wasn't the sort of person to lay things lying about uselessly. Everything seemed to have a place. Everything. The furniture, the plants, the paintings on the wall. And it was all so perfectly in it's spot.

Megamind looked over the books she owned. Mostly classic ones and a few new books on that good for nothing Metroman, autographed by him with small hearts after his name.

"Wayne Scott," he muttered to himself, glowering at the signature that read 'Metroman'. Megamind took a pen from his pocket and scribbled 'douche bag' next to the superhero title before putting it on it's rightful place on the shelf.

Looking around in the apartment took about half an hour really. And everywhere Megamind looked, he wasn't able to find anything he could use to get her defenseless. There were one or two pictures of a younger Roxanne with her parents, but he assumed they did not live here, since all the pictures of the family were taken in the country or what looked like a vacation. So using the family card wasn't a suitable option. She didn't seem to have any close friends or pets either. Guess threatening her life was the only thing he could resort to.

Kidnapping wasn't really all that high on Megamind's ways to gain control over the city. He wanted to do it by luring Metroman in a different way. Personally, to Megamind kidnapping was a lower form of villainy, like a thing only the low class and desperate ones would do. After all, whenever the kidnapping game was played, the villain always lost. Always.

Megamind's ears picked up soft breathing as he crept up the stairs to Roxanne's room. He peeked his eye in, scanning the area before slowly pushing the door open. He knew there was no point in looking in Ms. Ritchi's room. Why would he? I mean, there was nothing to learn about her there. He was in stealth mode and wouldn't be able to turn on the light or look around, so why come up?

He honestly found that he didn't know.

But some part of him, found pleasure in watching her sleep. He silently walked over to her bedside and knelt down so his face was but an inch aways from hers. He felt her soft breath on his face and he breathed back at her, and her expression changed for a moment in her sleep, her subconscious not familiar with his scent.

Feeling her stirring and starting to awake, Megamind soundlessly stood up and slid out of the door, listening as Ms. Ritchi sat up and yawned, then the sheets rustled as she curled back in bed to fall to her deep slumber.

Megamind tried to calm his heart as he bit his lip in anticipation and flew down the stairs, going back to the invisible car and the evil lair.

Oh yes. Metroman would fall this time, Megamind would make sure of it.