Megamind pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose. In the corner of them was a small pale-red arrow, visible only to him. He followed its directions, drumming his fingers on his notepad. He shook his arm, the coat on his back weighing down on him. His holo watch was excellent, but incorporating tiny props such as these really sold the disguise.

The face he was wearing was not his own, nor anybody's. He'd formed it on his computer, designing it to be as boring as possible. It went against his usual style, and he had to source some second opinions to get it just right.

As a result, he was a completely forgettable young adult male. It was the type of person you'd see one second and in the next be unable to recall their face.

Which was perfect for what he had in mind.

Being at the scene of one of his previous villainous deeds usually put a pep in his step. While the university campus wasn't exactly his doing, he still expected some happy feelings to come from a visit.

Megamind tugged at his collar, the turtleneck feeling oddly scratchy. In Metrocity, they were quick to repair his damage. However, they usually left a plaque commemorating his evil. Well, usually they praised Metro Man, but you could not think of one and not the other.

In Broken Bay?

Caution tape lay trampled on the sidewalk. The greenery remained torn up, with visible tracks running through it. Rubble had been pushed to the side, and in the distance, he could see a blue tarp covering the gaping hole he'd blasted his way through. Not even the fountain had been replaced. It had only been surrounded by metal barricades, the like you would see used for road construction.

All of this should have given him joy. So why did he keep gravitating toward melancholy?

It didn't make sense, and he slapped his cheeks a few times. He looked around, searching for the cause of discomfort. Using his impeccable intellect, he deduced the problem did not lie with him.

Everyone else was the issue. The population on the campus had dramatically reduced, but those who remained wore droopy faces. They moved quickly, as if not wanting to be outside longer than they needed to be. Their shoulders were hunched, and their eyes darted back and forth.

Megamind threw a smile on his face and widened his steps, swinging his arms back and forth in an animated style. He was not one of them, and he never would be. There was no reason to feel whatever they did.

The red of the arrow deepened, informing him he was nearing his destination. Megamind glanced up, squinting his eyes. Apart from the occasional cloud, nothing could be seen in the sky.

That did not change the fact that his surveillance bot floated high above. The data it was collecting fed directly to this pair of spectacles. He'd been hard at work the past couple of days, refining the way he processed their information. They showed him much of the city.

Too much.

Megamind shook his head. He needed to keep his mind on the game. Today would not be anything high-risk, but coming face-to-face with a hero should always be done with some level of precaution.

He would have preferred Minion's presence right now. However, this was a task best done by himself. Minion was too simple to understand why it needed to happen; he'd ask too many troublesome questions. He did wonder what his fishy companion was up to today, as while he didn't inquire too deeply, Minion did seem to have something in mind.

The red arrow started blinking, and he paused for a moment. He'd reached one of the cafes in the center of campus. It was busy, but only because the surrounding ones were currently shuttered. It was midday, which made their closing strange.

He did not pay it any mind and peered through the glass windows.

Brunette, red, blonde but wrong color, black, brunette, brunette again, blonde but too wavy, brunette—

Wait.

His eyes snapped back to the wavy blonde. It was a subtle change to her hairstyle, but it had almost fooled him into missing her. Things would have been much easier if she had kept the blue styling he'd supplied, but alas, she'd managed to get rid of that look all too quickly.

Satisfied with his findings, he positioned himself against the door. He brought up his notepad, scribbling random marks and looking busy. The door dinged open several times before his quarry, excited.

"Excuse me," he called, waving his notepad. "Could I have a quick word?"

The woman paused, turning with a plastic smile on her face.

"Hello, now's not a great time, but I'm happy to sign an autograph, if that is what you're after."

Lady Photon, or Sarah Pelhman in her civilian life, stood there dressed in long-sleeved clothing. He noticed a hint of white under her collar. As someone often in spandex, he knew a costume when he saw one.

"Not as such," Megamind replied, taking out a pencil and tapping it on the pad. "I'm working on an important project and was hoping you could provide some insight."

Rescuing people was the job of heroes. As a Villain with a capital V, it was not included on his long list of skills. He'd managed well enough with Canary, but that was a prison break. Those he knew well. This was a hostage situation, and while he'd been on the other end of it plenty of times, he couldn't afford to let this go wrong.

Lady Photon checked her wrist, a brief frown coming over her before it was replaced by the previous smile.

"I'm sorry, but I was only stopping by for a quick boost." She held the cup of coffee up for a moment. "I need to get back out there soon."

At her rejection, Megamind's face fell. What was he even doing? Why would he, Megamind, require advice from anyone? Let alone someone on the opposite side of the law. He'd chalk this up to a lapse in judgment. No, a temporary spout of insanity.

He could handle it himself.

"How important are we talking?" She asked with a reluctant tone.

"The fate of my protégé's career hangs in the balance."

Every villain needed a rival. It was how they grew. Would he be the supervillain he was today without the constant pressure of Metro Man's existence?

Yes, obviously. But for others, it definitely mattered.

"So not life and death, then." She responded with a small sigh. Her eyes darted away for a moment before she waved her hand toward an empty table. "I can spare a few minutes."

It actually was life and death, but that wasn't the important bit.

"That's all it will take," he said before she could reconsider.

They walked over to the table and took their seats on the flimsy chairs. Up this close, he noticed the signs of makeup on her face. He used it himself to highlight his formidable features. Hers looked to be used to cover up the dark circles under her eyes.

He took a moment to organize his thoughts. Part of him wished he'd written down his questions, but there was really only one that was important.

"How do you rescue someone?"

Whatever she expected, it wasn't that, and it took her a moment to respond.

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"That's a broad question…" she trailed off, checking her watch again. "You said this was related to your friend's career."

Friend? No, he hadn't used that word. However, for the sake of brevity, he could afford to not correct her and nodded.

"I see," she said skeptically. "I can only speak about my experience as a hero, so I'm not sure how well that will translate to what you're looking for, but rescuing someone involves more than carrying them out of a burning building. Oftentimes it's time sensitive, and you need to make hard choices."

Megamind silently agreed. It was a race against the clock. Would his bots track down Bakuda's whereabouts first? Or would Triumph's brains be explosively rearranged?

"You can train yourself to think under pressure, but it's rare for there to be a perfect solution. The way I tell my kids and nieces to think about it is to prioritize your own safety before looking to help anyone else."

That did not make sense. Heroes were meant to put their lives on the line. Was he wrong to ask Lady Photon? He gave her the benefit of the doubt. Up until now, she'd conducted herself appropriately.

She must have seen his surprise, and she followed up, elaborating.

"That's the reaction most civilians have. Heroes can seem bigger than life sometimes, but even we have limits. We aim to improve the situation, and we can't do that if we become a liability ourselves. We'll still saddle up and take risks, but we have to be smart about it."

It all came back to them not being Metro Man. They could not smile in the face of high-caliber munitions or escape the blast range of a few tons of TNT. Despite that, they persisted in taking the label of heroes. Was doing that cheapening the title, or did it somehow make it more?

That wasn't a question he'd ever pondered, and he found himself not being able to answer it. He let those thoughts fall to the side.

"Very informative," he lied. "But how do you deal with it when it's not a fire but a criminal instead? Let's say they have someone you need to save hostage."

As a supervillain of impeccable standards, he would have the decency to monologue and give the hero a chance to rescue his victim. He would not expect the same from the locals.

Her brow bunched up, showing some reservations.

"That's specific…" she said, eyeing him strangely. "I would advise working with other heroes. When we work together, we're more than the sum of our parts."

That was useless. He worked alone.

Or he used to. That wasn't strictly true anymore, was it?

"New Wave splits into groups. We have one go after the hostages while the other distracts the villains. Having a healer on standby is a must, as you never know what could happen."

Megamind's pencil finally moved, scratching a few words on the notepad.

"Wait, no. There's more to it than that," Lady Photon continued, staring out into the distance. "The truth is, we can't rescue people. We can save them in the moment, but the actual rescuing? That they have to do themselves." She released a long breath, running her hand along her other arm. "Movies and television never show that part. They make things out to be so simple. Beat the bad guy, save the hostage, and the day is won." There was a bitterness in her tone that made him uncomfortable. "For the hero, maybe that is the end. But for the victim? They've just been thrown off the horse, and they'll have to fight if they ever want to ride another." Her breath hitched, and she stood abruptly. "I'm running late. Good luck with your friend."

She didn't wait any longer, ascending to the sky. Those around seemed to only now realize there was a hero in their midst, and some took out their phones to capture the image of her flight.

Megamind looked up, watching her retreating figure. In those final moments, she had not come off as Lady Photon, hero.

She'd been Sarah Pelham, human.

The alien sat there, tapping his notepad. Apart from adding one Othala to his shopping list, she hadn't been much help.

He decided to do things his way. That was clearly the superior option.

----------------------------------------

Minion had not been a fan of the past week, but things were looking up. Why? Because today was Tuesday. That meant his local supermarket was trying to get rid of all sorts of goodies by putting them at a deep discount.

Having such a picky eater as a boss was a blessing and a curse. He loved finding new things that suited his boss' taste, but it also meant he went through plenty of ingredients.

As a budget-conscious fish, it was his duty to minimize the impact their food bill had on their bottom line.

He hummed a happy tune, pushing his squeaky cart along. It seized up at times, the wheels getting stuck. It was the type of problem that could be fixed with a little oil. He wondered why no one ever stopped to fix it. It wouldn't take long. Had he not the honor of being the minion of the most dastardly villain of them all, even he could have fixed it.

But he was, and so he tried to harmonize with the noise instead. Other shoppers noticed his efforts, and he gave them waves and smiles in equal proportions.

Most returned them after only a little hesitation.

The holo watch, in his very humble opinion, was the best invention his boss had ever created.

Minion's minion, Harry, was nice, but no matter how many times he gently explained it, the man did not understand how to shop. He made up for it in other ways, like his network of friends. The boss' surveillance network was amazing, but Harry's friends were a great help. Canary and he were even talking more and more these days. Both to deal with the girls they were sending back overseas and to talk about the city itself.

Sometimes Minion felt like a bit of a third wheel between them, but Canary was the boss's apprentice, so his minion was her minion.

Or something like that. It made sense to him, and that was what mattered.

A yellow sticker caught his eye, and he pushed the cart faster. His hand dipped into the open refrigerated section, and he grabbed onto his prize.

Holding up, he squinted and read a beautiful line.

Price per lb: $2

Score! Ground beef was usually double that. Not only that, but this package had over three pounds of it. It was a fantastic find!

He placed it in his loaded cart and was about to continue down his list when something gave him pause.

There was a girl standing there. She wore a dark hoodie and had long, curly black hair. Glasses framed her pale face. Her hand was outstretched, frozen in action. She seemed to notice his stare, and the hand pulled back. She had begun shuffling away with her basket when he called out.

"Oh, sorry. Did you mean to grab that?"

In his excitement, he might have cut her off. He might have been a card carrying member of Team Evil, but he had rules, and supermarket dibs were not to be disrespected.

"I—" The girl half turned his way, her shoulders hunched over. She shook her head and spoke in a low, almost defeated voice. "Don't worry about it."

He'd almost missed it, but behind those frames, he'd caught a glimpse of her eyes. In them, he found something familiar.

"Is something wrong?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

When she didn't respond, he put on a reassuring smile. It was missing a few teeth, but Harry assured him the elderly grandma look worked best for him.

"Whatever," she said in the most teenager way imaginable.

She started to walk away, but Minion was faster than her and pulled alongside her with his cart.

"Hold up. First is first, so here you go."

He held out the package, trying to ignore the pang of loss within him. Her eyes went from the package and then back to him, narrowing. He moved it a little closer to her, and she took a half step back, holding her basket closer to her.

Something finally clicked, and he realized what he found familiar.

"I know that look," he said with a rueful tone. He wagged a finger in her direction. "Someone had a hard time in school today, didn't they?" Long ago, the boss used to get that way. He did his best to cheer him up, but he was only a minion. "Well, don't let that get you down. I'm sure tomorrow will be better!"

It had taken many tomorrows, but his boss had gotten there.

Her grip on the basket tightened, but she didn't retreat further. She eyed the piece of meat, and her hand slowly reached out. Her fingers wrapped around it, and she cautiously pulled it back.

It was like she expected him to pull it back in the last second.

Strange girl.

With that interaction concluded, he was going to go on his merry way when she surprised him by speaking.

"How did you know?" She asked. Her face tightened, and she looked to the side, whispering her next. "Do I look like that much of a loser?"

Minion had to stop and consider that. What did a loser look like?

"No idea!" He stated confidently. "But you did look like my boss, and he can be a bit of a loser, so maybe?"

He didn't know it was possible, but his compliment managed to make her deflate even more. He was not great at speaking, so she must have misunderstood him.

"My boss is great, amazing even. But even he was on a huge losing streak. And I mean huge." He spread his hand out to reinforce his words. "You would not believe how many losses he stacked up. It was nonstop. For a while there, I didn't think he could ever win. But then one day… he did!"

Between Brockton Bay and Metro City, he strongly preferred the bay. His boss went through his ups and downs, but his ups here were far higher than they ever were in Metro City.

"So what?" she said with a raised eyebrow. "You're saying I can be just like him?"

Minion gasped, his hands coming up to his face in shock. He shook his head wildly.

"Oh, no. Never. There's no point in trying to be him."

He was one of a kind. Irreplaceable.

The girl released a scoff, giving him a dismissive roll of her eyes.

"Then be myself? Because that's worked so well."

Minion's face twisted in thought. Wasn't that right?

"That is what my boss did."

He couldn't say it would work for her, but he didn't have any other advice to give. His shows were a treasure trove of knowledge, but they didn't prepare him for speaking with teenagers.

She blinked before exhaling through her nose.

"Yeah, well, the city's falling apart. So I don't have that kind of time. I'd rather be out there and become someone else," she said almost wistfully before freezing. She swallowed and then some tension seemed to leave her shoulders. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

That reminded him to check his email. Parian didn't often message him, but when she did he didn't like to leave her waiting long.

"I've been told I'm a great listener. It might even be my superpower!"

Unless being a minion counted as a superpower, which it might have.

"I can think of worse powers to have," she said in a deprecating manner that didn't quite understand. "I—"

Whatever she had been about to say got caught in her throat. Her eyes grew wide and the blood drained from her face. She took a step back before dropping the basket and bolting away.

Minion stood there, confusion filling his face. Shrugging to himself, he reached into the basket and took repossession of the discounted meat. He frowned, seeing flies traveling along the plastic covering.

He swatted them away, not thinking about it further.