"I have Megamind held at gunpoint," the child cape talked to herself, or more likely into an earpiece. "No, I mean me, squad's down. I'm not kidding. What does it matter where I got it? Just send someone over. They collapsed the eastern stairwell."

Megamind felt she was making a few choice omissions from that. The big one was that she wasn't the only one with a weapon, and he had two to her one.

"I said drop it," she barked, jerking the assault rifle up again. It really was too big for her, and he noticed her hold on it was unsteady.

Prior to coming to this world, he would not have considered guns to fit the heroic motif. Since then, he'd learned to be a smidge more open-minded. They could not all bend steel like strands of spaghetti. Tools were allowed; they just had to be responsibly used.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" He asked an all-to-reasonable question.

Megamind considered the situation. A showdown between the hero and villain was called for, but it would be a shame if the hero could not put in the least bit of a struggle. Yes, she did have a weapon pointed at him, but he was betting his draw was quicker.

"Of course I do," she scoffed, the muzzle swaying slightly. "I'm not a kid."

Was this another case of the school system failing their youth? Did she not even know the definition of a kid?

"The safety is on," Megamind said, choosing not to argue the girl's age.

She took a half step back, improving her balance. Her eyes flickered to the side of the gun for a moment, but quickly refocused on him.

"No, it's not. Now stop stalling."

Stalling? He was just trying to ensure she could give it her best shot. Facing him, a true supervillain, should be the highlight of her career.

"How can you be so sure? You checked the wrong side of it. It's on the right, not the left."

He wasn't actually sure which side it was on. However, her hesitation at his line of questioning showed the firemode was irrelevant. He'd clearly demonstrate her lack of knowledge about it. How was this supposed to be an even showing if she didn't even know how her weapon worked?

"It's a modified M4 compatible with special brute rounds," Vista said with certainty, while not changing her grip. She hesitated before continuing to speak. "I'm not trained on this model, but I know how guns work!"

Her protest of his allegations only reinforced his original suspicion. It felt more like a case of denial than an intentional lie.

"Maybe it would be better for everyone if you used something a little more your size?" He glanced toward the writhing officers. Even their pistols may have packed more of a kick than she could handle. "Don't you have your own weapon?"

She had a utility belt, like his, but unless there was something concealed in those pouches, she looked entirely unarmed. He also didn't spot anything on the ground that looked like it would have belonged to her.

"This is my size," she replied hastily. The parts of her face visible seemed to redden, and she shook her head. "You know what I mean." He wasn't sure he did. "And they won't even give me a taser, let alone an actual weapon."

That couldn't be right. Her powers didn't look to be able to be used offensively. How was she supposed to properly challenge villains by herself?

"Have you tried ask-" Megamind paused, seeing the way her finger tensed on the trigger. "Well, that's just irresponsible. If someone like Shadow Stalker can be given a crossbow, then why would they have any issues about arming you?"

Obviously, if she was like the older girl, then he would not be offering this bit of advice. Given that his magnificent brain matter remained in his cranium, he thought the two were different.

"Because they think I'm a kid," Vista spat out.

Megamind could let it go the first time, but she felt stuck on that point.

"You're a Ward. That means you have to be under the age of eighteen. Which makes you a child." This time Megamind ignored the way her finger twitched. "But that has nothing to do with giving you a weapon. If I was breaking out of prison in my nappies, a hero should be allowed a proper firearm. You should put your foot down and demand one."

His declaration gave Vista pause, and the barrel lowered just the slightest bit. It didn't last long, and soon it was refocused.

"You can't trick me," she said, skepticism in her voice. "Now put them down. I mean it."

He didn't pay her order much mind. The claims she was making went further to show the issue may not lie with the heroes in general, but with the institution itself. The Protectorate and prt were complicit in the degradation of heroics.

"What do they expect you to do against someone like Hookwolf? Wave at him while he mauls your teammate? Or would they like you to pound him with your tiny fist?"

Vista scowled, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She stole a look at the officers. Megamind presumed she was hoping their debilitate would run its course. It would, but not in time to help her.

"I—we're not even supposed to fight him. It's bull—it's stupid."

Megamind frowned. He raised a finger from his gun, wagging it.

"Heroes must always rise to the challenge; there's no picking or choosing your battles."

Now, if they tried and things got dicey as they did downstairs, then backing off to reengage at a later time was acceptable. It was changing his standards, but it made sense to him.

"I know that," she muttered, almost as if she were afraid of others hearing her say it. "Now stop moving already!"

He wasn't thrilled about proceeding this way and looked for alternatives.

"How about this? Why don't we have Leet pass his firearm to you? If he could fire it, you shouldn't have many problems with it."

That should make it a little sporting; however, if the way her scowl deepened, she didn't agree.

"I already told you, I'm not a kid. I won't fall for something like that."

Fall for what?

Well, fine. If she wanted to hamper herself so much, then he'd stop standing in her way. Megamind narrowed his eyes, keeping his fingers on the trigger. He would like to think she met his eyes, but with the visor, he could not be certain.

"Child, adult, three-day-old infant, it makes no difference to me, Megamind. I'll face whoever stands in my way. Can you say the same, tiny hero?"

"I'm standing," Vista grunted out, not letting a beat pass for her response. "Aren't I?"

Simple yet impactful. Megamind approved.

"Then," Megamind said slowly, allowing the tension to build. "Let's see how long that lasts."

His fingers tapped on the trigger, teasing any potential audience about when the first shot would be fired. Megamind counted down the seconds, judging how long he could stretch the pause before it crossed from dramatic to boring. Of course, any audience's enjoyment came second to his own.

Megamind watched as a bead of sweat dripped down her brow, and when it finished traversing her baby fat-filled cheeks, he struck. He squeezed the right trigger, sending a shot wide. Using its trajectory as a guide, he sent a second soon after. The twisted space did not make for easy firing, and both shots ended up as duds. That was within his plans, and he was lining up a third shot when Vista had her say. The bang of the rifle had him diving to the side, rubber bullets clanging after him.

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The bullets were not tightly grouped, and he soon saw Vista stagger back, fighting to keep the gun under control.

"What's the matter, hero?" He recovered quickly and delivered the required taunt. "Is victory already slipping through your grasp?"

Vista reorientated the gun and gritted her teeth, falling to a knee. It was a planned maneuver, making her profile even smaller and allowing her to brace for the recoil better. A brief burst followed, and he turned to the side, sucking in his gut. The bullets whizzed past, and his arm extended again, firing at the stationary target.

Despite his calculations, they still missed their mark, and he noticed how the room was starting to stretch again. It was slower than before and he briefly wondered if her hands being occupied affected the speed at which her powers could shape the terrain.

Megamind broke out into a run, advancing on her before she could fully distance herself. He nearly lost his balance as his foot traveled further than it should have. Wanting to keep up the pressure, he kept firing at the girl. She responded in kind with rounds barking out of the muzzle, homing in on him.

Neither of them found any success, the space proving too complex for even the maker to properly fire through. She must not have had much practice using her powers this way.

He aimed for the roof again, taking out a chunk of it and causing Vista to fall on her back. She braced the butt of the gun on her stomach and pointed it up.

Was she going to try and copy his tactic?

He tutted, shaking his head and resting both wrists on his hips.

"I can't say I'm not flattered, but you need to think of your own tactics. You can't just steal..." Megamind trailed off. The ground in front of him snapped together and left a very tiny girl with a very large gun directly under him, the barrel pointing at his abdomen. "Does it have to be the stomach again?" He asked with a strained smile.

Vista smirked, and in the next instant, rounds peppered his abused tummy. A girlish cry sounded through the hall, followed soon by a sharp inhale and… was that a curse?

His eyes, which had reflexively shut, were opened, and he was met with the odd sight of a disarmed Vista in front of him. The gun had been knocked aside, and she was waving her hand that looked to sport an angry red mark.

The funny thing about rubber bullets was that they had a tendency to bounce. While he would have preferred his stomach to not be used as a trampoline, he counted it as a valid first hit.

Megamind hopped forward, clutching his stomach. He swung his foot back and, with great enthusiasm, struck her across the chin, causing her head to snap backward.

"Heavy is the boot of evil!"

He stood with his guns pointed at her prone form. His chest was beating up and down as he waited for her rebuttal.

It was taking a while, and he wondered if she was having trouble thinking of a response.

Part of him wanted to help her, but he would not be holding her hand through this.

There was a limit to his patience, and he began to grow suspicious. He inched closer to her and nudged her with his boot.

He jumped back at the groan she gave, expecting trickery.

"Way to go, sir!" Minion sprinted up to him. It was only a short distance, the hallway now obeying the regular laws of space. "You totally beat up that little girl!"

Ah. Right. In his excitement, he'd momentarily forgotten he was dealing with a fragile child and not a fully grown hero. Maybe he should have held back? He discarded the idea as soon as it came; that would have been insulting.

"Call her by her hero name, Vista. She did try to stop me after all."

She'd sort of defeated herself, but Megamind was not one to get stuck up on those details. Vista was young, but he saw promise there. Really, all these kids needed was to up their banter game, and they'd be much better situated to get a grip on the reins of heroism.

"Dude," Leet said, having run up behind Minion. "Even I know it's not cool to coldcock a tween."

Megamind didn't bother to correct him, scanning the area for further threats. There were none, and so he began issuing orders.

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

The roof was dominated by a large light green helicopter pad. At the center of the H, his flagpole had been erected. Using a foam grenade an officer has so kindly left behind, Vista had been entombed onto the base of it. Her face was the only thing visible. It was currently twisted into her preferred facial expression, a scowl.

"You're not getting away with this," his captive angrily said. She had regained consciousness quickly and was none too pleased with the change in affairs. "The other heroes will be here any minute."

In consideration of the customs of the locals, he'd left her visor on. However, he did make sure her communication system was disabled. It meant that she was in the dark as much as he was in regard to her prospective rescue. He did find it strange they'd not run into any other heroes on their ascent to the roof. Only a few squads of troopers had tried to impede him. It did not take much to sweep them away.

"And they'll still be too slow to save you," Megamind replied with a smirk, holding his cue card up. "Now stop stalling and say your lines."

He motioned toward the Brain Bot carrying the video recorder, making sure they would capture the shot.

Vista's mouth remained tightly shut, and he was considering how to properly motivate her when Uber swaggered up to her.

"That was your last chance." Uber pointed a green revolver toward her head. "Any last words?"

There were none, and Megamind passively watched as the trigger was pulled. A pop sounded and a projectile hit her square between the eyes.

"That isn't funny," Vista grumbled, trying to stretch her face so that the foam dart attached to it would fall off. "The second I get out of here, I'm wiping those grins from your faces."

He liked the enthusiasm, even if he doubted the statement itself.

Captured she may be, Vista was far from helpless. She was trying to be clever at the moment, subtly using her power to close the distance between them and the next rooftop over where another squad was setting up with sniper rifles. Minion was tasked with watching them, so he was not concerned about their presence.

"Yes, I'm sure you will," he lied to her face. There was no reason to discourage her. "Now be a proper loser and do as the winner." He pointed at himself in case it wasn't clear. "Demands."

He watched her try to struggle out of the concrete like foam, but it was a futile effort. Megamind glanced at the Miss Militia dart gun Uber wielded; he'd need to make sure that was returned to him before they parted ways. It was one of many gift shop items his Brain Bots had raided while the rest of them set the flagpole up.

"Are you kidding me? Do you have any idea how much bu–stuff they're already going to make me do after this? The counseling alone is going to be a nightmare. I'm not adding a PR rehabilitation campaign to the list. Besides, you won't do anything."

Bold words. Megamind snapped his finger and one of the Brain Bots closed in on her with a spinning buzzsaw.

"Won't I?" He questioned, steepling his fingers.

The blade got nearer, and the only indication she gave of discomfort was a swallow.

This one was made of stern stuff, and he clapped, calling the bot off. It seemed like they were at an impasse. Only seemed though, as his genius mind had already come up with a solution.

Megamind grabbed another piece of Miss Militia apparel. Securing the bandana around his victim's lower face, he stepped back to make sure it matched the manner in which the older hero wore it. Becoming a Brain Bot, he used its microphone to throw his voice so that it appeared to come from the incapacitated hero.

"I, Vista of the Broken Bay Wards, do hereby declare Megamind to be a serious threat that the citizens of this city should cower in fear from. I also think he's really cool with a badass cape."

There. That should do it.

"No one's going to believe that was my voice," Vista pointed out, her entire face obscured. "You didn't even try to sound like me."

That was hurtful. He could admit that he was not as practiced as Minion was with voices, but he had made an attempt.

Oh well. He'd gotten enough samples of her voice to recreate it and edit it after.

"Yo!" Leet yelled from the edge of the roof. He'd been taking selfies with the city. "We got some birds!"

Birds? Was he some sort of bird watcher?

"Sir!" Minion followed up soon after, pointing at the distance. "Helicopters!"

Perfect!

He was hoping they'd show up. Now they just needed to wait for them to get close and then ride off into the sunset carried by his Brain Bots.

With his cape and flag flapping in the wind, he was ready to receive them. Sadly, the drums of their rotor blades seemed to be going further away.

"Where are they going? What could be more important than this?"

It was a real question, and his mind couldn't think of anything that could trump that. Minion jolted abruptly, taking his attention away from the snipers.

"Gasp!" His minion said audibly, raising his hands to his mouth. "We need to go back to the lair!"

Minion's eyes were wide and his fins batted back and forth in panic. Had Megamind missed some alarm during his fight? What emergency had befallen them? He checked his Holo Watch, seeing nothing amiss.

"Spill it, Minion. What's got you so worked up? Then I'll decide how panicked we should be."

It was the optimal form of crisis management.

Minion took deep breaths of air…or water. He fanned his enclosed head and turned with a grave expression.

"It's, it's, the oven! I left it on! Everything's going to be ruined!"

Megamind sagged. All that over some burnt cakes? Minion had plenty of time to make some more, so it was not a great loss. Megamind stole a look at Vista. He could not see her face, but he imagined it was unimpressed. He'd have a word about Minion embarrassing him in front of the heroes when he got back to the lair.

"Calm down, Minion. Consider that a trial run. No real harm-" A dull thump sounded in the distance. "You wouldn't have happened to have left any of my equipment on the stove again, did you?" He palmed his face, shaking his head. "I've told you time and time again. Watch where you place my stuff. Not everything I build is stable."

His brain spun with thoughts. Fire safety was the least of his concerns, so an uncontrolled blaze could wipe out much of his progress. Luckily, his habit of keeping things dehydrated meant the majority would be safe. Still, they did need to get back and salvage things like the death ray, giant robot, and teleporter.

"Uh," Leet muttered some numbers under his breath. He took a finger and drew on his hand a bit. "I don't know where your base is, but I don't think the explosion came from there."

"Let me go!" Vista yelled, managing to dislodge the bandana and revealing her gaping mouth. She closed it and struggled some more before following up. "That's city hall!"

Megamind checked his watch again. All the sensors returned nominal readings.

"Really?" Minion asked with cupped hands, hope shining in his eyes. "Thank good-er-badness." Minion had caught himself but Megamind made note of the slip. It would come up in his quarterly evaluation report. "I have to wonder what that was, though."

Megamind shared his curiosity. Whatever that was, it better not upstage him. Thankfully, the production quality of this caper was sure to impress.

"Pay it no mind, my Minion," Megamind confidently asserted, his shoulders square. "I'm sure it's unimportant."

And entirely unrelated to him.