Their humble abode was occupied with an incessant humming. He didn't mind it considering to what ends it was for.

"Minion, how goes your most crucial of assignments"

Minion was hunched over a table, skillfully using a sewing machine they'd liberated the night before.

"Great sir!" Minion at him with a smile "That store had a lot of quality fabrics and leathers."

He nodded satisfied. That smash and grab had been more hectic than he'd planned. Minion had even suffered some blows when he wasn't looking, nothing he wasn't able to fix once in the safety of their lair.

The risk had been worth it, it was imperative that he have a garb that matched his status of Super Villain. Only the best materials would suffice and that boardwalk housed the most famous tailor shop in the city.

Or it had before Minion's and his renovations.

"Did you find out more about that hero?" Minion tried to ask casually. He failed on account of the sparkle in his eye.

Learning about the hero who'd nearly foiled his plans had been high on his list. She was no Metro Man. He would never have given up the chase so easily.

"I did." Minion continued operating the machine. Megamind didn't miss how he'd slowed by a fraction and had leaned in to better hear what he had to say. "She is but one of many. An entire family of heroes."

Eight, to be exact. Eight heroes in a single family. Justice flowed through their veins as evil did his.

"Really!" Minion swiftly tampered down on his excitement. "Do you think the rest will want revenge?"

"It's ravange and of course! Heroes can't stand to let evil go unchallenged."

Big, hopeful eyes fluttered in his direction.

Minion was not meant to fight the hero. That was the job of the villain. His job.

It was supposed to be in any case. With the glow Minion had been giving off since, well he supposed he needn't defeat every hero himself. What's more, Minion's body was his creation.

Every victory of his was a victory of Megamind's.

"Oh fine. You can have some of them. Only some!" He quickly added after seeing Minion get a bit too happy.

"Thank you sir! You're the best Super Villain out there!"

"Correction Minion." He said gravely. "You may want to sit down for this."

Minion plopped down on the concrete with a thud and looked up at him expectantly.

Finding out the truth of this world shook him to his core. His hands had trembled uncontrollably at the revelation. So filled with emotion he was that a tear may have been shed!

"This world." He spoke solemnly, placing a hand on Minion's shoulder. "These poor people. They've never seen a proper villain!"

It went without saying that he was the best Super Villain, however he never wanted to win the title by default!

Minion tilted his head in a confused manner. A common enough occurrence for him.

"I thought you said there were a lot of villains here?"

His initial search had revealed as much, a deeper inspection laid the truth bear to him and he had to advert his eyes from the tragedy.

"Thugs in masks! There's no artistry! No passion! No soul!"

Villainy wasn't simply his occupation. It was his calling. His art. His craft. To see so many parade around and claim they practiced it while defiling its name? It lit a fire in him.

No.

It ignited a sun, roaring in his heart!

"Does it matter sir? Aren't we just trying to get home?"

That was the plan. To perform a robbery or a dozen. Lightly terrorize the natives until they stole what they needed to rebuild the teleporter and then recreate the events that landed them here.

It was still the plan.

"We are. But." Metrocity wasn't going anywhere. Neither was Metro Man. They didn't need to return immediately. "We have a duty Minion. A most sacred of tasks."

Megamind had never shied away from putting all he had into his craft. Even then, he could admit some of his work received greater care than others.

"That is?"

This would be one of those tasks.

"We're going to show them." He placed his hands on either side of Minion's container and rested his head against it. "We're going to show them a real villain."

—

He tugged on his gloves, ensuring their snug fit.

Patting his waist, he confirmed the presence of his trusty gun. Having it functioning again, even partially, was a welcome reassurance. Full functionality would have to come with time.

Vexingly, it only worked when connected to the Megamobile. His singular power cell proving to be reliable if a bottleneck.

A memory from long ago surfaced.

His mind.

His Minion.

His binky.

Those were the three gifts his parents had left him. The first created his inventions and the third powered them. The second? Well, Minion…was Minion.

B.I.N.K.E.Y, otherwise known as Blue Ion Nano Kinetic Energ-Y, had facilitated more than one prison break. Its Kinetic laser was potent enough to blast through the thickest of prison walls.

Even as a child, he understood the magnitude of the gift he'd been granted. Its purpose was not the occasional destruction of public property. It was to be the foundation of his technological might!

Replicating it had been his first great challenge. One he'd succeeded at. Now, he needed to repeat the process. A simple feat for one as great as he, if he had all of the ingredients.

The creation of it required a chemical reaction. The chemicals themselves were not common however neither were they too rare to be difficult to procure. The lab equipment was somewhat similar, in that any biochemical lab would carry it. He could build his own, but why would he do that when a much much simpler solution was available?

"Minion, to the Megamobile!" He declared with a hand held high. Wide steps carried him to his faithful chariot. His newly cleaned and repaired leather suit of evil hugged his frame nicely. Behind him, a silky smooth blue and black cape fluttered in his wake.

"I've been waiting for a while sir?" Minion stated, having already been seated.

Megamind ignored his comment, evil took a long time to get ready.

He may have been dressed for villainy, however this was not his grand reveal. No, it was still too early. This would be a pre-show. A small display to begin the whispers.

Who was this devilishly handsome villain? Where did he buy his impeccably designed outfit? Is he our new overlord?

All questions he would gladly answer in time.

They took the street, the night was theirs to do with as they pleased. That was another reason this would not be his official debut. No, for that they'd need broad daylight. How else were the cameras supposed to properly capture his visage? Proper lighting was a cornerstone when planning any villainous excursion.

Their target had not been difficult to settle on.

Megamind was not above granting credit where it was due. He'd shake the hand of whoever the maniacal genius was to create this 'social media'. Creating such a space where simpletons willingly gave you crucial information required real foresight.

It wasn't as easy as taking candy from a baby, he'd not met one able to resist him, but it was not far from it.

This, Chelsea Winters had been one of these fools. A recent graduate with a degree in chemistry bragging about her new job and including photographs of her new workstation. A station that had precisely what he required. She'd even been so kind as to tag its location for him.

She truly tried to give babies a run for their money.

As they approached their destination, the roads became more active and he had to weave around many a car. This Downtown, as they called it, was far more affluent than where he and Minion had been staying. He'd have to plan more crimes here in the future.

He took note of a store sign as they continued on their way.

Watching the street signs pass, he soon realized the next turn was their stop. Skillfully, he took the turn at max speed. The Megamobile drifted, jerking against the raised sidewalk and coming to rest in front of an unassuming two-story building.

"Minion, you have the list right?" He asked his companion who gleefully waved the paper he'd written on.

Minion may not be the sharpest saw in the torture room but he did know how to conduct a shopping trip.

"Be right back sir!" Minion hopped out, sack carried. He ran up to the structure and leaped, crashing through the second-story window. An alarm blared.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Hmm, that was annoying. He should have brought earplugs.

He waited patiently in his vehicle, fingers drumming on the wheel. The sound was such that he didn't notice their approach until he felt the cold iron on his temple.

"Make a move and I'll blow a big hole in your freak head."

His face morphed into a grin.

"Hahahahaha" He gave a full belly laugh.

Projecting an air of confidence when on the back foot was Villain 101. Maybe 102.

From the way the gun shifted uncertainly against his head, it had the desired effect.

"The fuck you laughing for freak!" The man yelled over the ongoing alarm, his spittle flying.

Megamind inspected his aggressors from the corner of his eye. There was a group of five and over half of them had decent taste in hairdos. Matching his that is.

Including the one uncomfortably held to him, two of them held handguns. The others wielded bats, with one of them clutching a cellular device. Aside from the one questioning him, the rest kept shifting their attention from him to the shattered window and back.

They wore strange marks on their skin. He raised an eyebrow at their clothing choices, at least they coordinated.

"Your dumbass know you're on Empire turf? You know what we do to freaks like you?"

The name tasted familiar. After the rather embarrassing fiasco on the boardwalk, he resolved himself to learn more about the local hero and villain communities. He found pho to be a great resource in his quest for knowledge.

"Oh do tell." He spoke in a condescending tone while hoping Minion would stop lazying about.

"Won't be so cocky when Hookwolf gets his claws into you."

"Ha, I think you'll find-" His face shifted to one of astonishment. One of his hands pointed forward while remaining on the steering wheel. "It's Me-Miss Militia!" He shouted, almost slipping up in his delivery.

They turned their heads in unison and his hand shot to his side, retrieving his gun. The ring leader tried to turn his attention back to him. Already plugged in and set to his desired setting, he leaned out of both their lines of fire, pointed it, and fired.

A blue bolt flashed past him and struck the man who stumbled a few steps back, dropping his pistol while emitting a strange sound. He didn't waste his chance and rapidly fired at the remainder of them, scoring direct hits. They stood there frozen, regarding him with queer expressions.

He was about to gloat when a thud reverberated.

"Sir?"

Minion asked, arriving loaded with loot. Of course, he showed up when the situation was well in hand. Not that it ever wasn't!

"Dispose of them Minion."

He didn't need to be told twice, lowering the loot and vaulting over the car and into the center of his victims. With his previous attack, they were helpless against his Minion. He tuned out the screams and cries as he sorted through what they'd acquired. Good stuff! It was everything he needed to create more power cells.

Not content with just that, he walked to where the bonus loot was. He retrieved the first pistol and then the next. He stopped for a second to let one of the men fly past him with a cry.

Minion was having fun.

There was a light flickering on the ground, curious he picked up the cell phone. Using his peerless intellect to decipher how to use it.

"Ollo?"

The response was intelligible and he covered one of his ears to block the alarm sound.

"You'll have to speak up." He yelled.

"Jason?" A grating yell responded.

He looked at the man who'd previously held the phone attempting to crawl away, only to have Minon grasp his leg and pull him back.

"He's….Pooped?" It was not his best work.

"Who in the hell are you." The voice snarled back.

"I'm-" No, it was too soon. His name deserved a bigger stage. His previous delivery of it would hopefully go overlooked. "Leaving. Chow now!"

He hung up, pocketing the device.

"Minion!" He called. Minion was halfway up a light pole, attempting to hang one of them by their soiled underpants. "Time to go!"

Minion's gills shrunk in and he looked to the floor.

"Oh fine, finish up but be quick about it."

He settled in the Megamobile waiting. His gun found its way into his hands again and he played with it. Switching the settings back and forth, eventually leaving it on Defecate again. His remaining power cell hadn't yet failed on him but he didn't want to push his luck by turning it to one of the more powerful settings he'd been able to restore.

Besides, he'd not met many men who could fight effectively after suffering its effects.

The shift of the Megamobile told him of Minion's presence.

"Ready sir! Back to the lair?"

"No, I don't think so." He spoke remembering what they'd passed before. "We have one more stop to make before then."

—

The water dripped down, forming puddles in the lair. He'd ordered Minion to repair the roof and the results had been, very Minion. If they were planning to stay here longer, major renovations would be needed.

Relocating may have been the smarter move, however something about this place spoke to him. It might have been the giant M on the sign outside. All it required was a paint job.

Regardless, He couldn't be scrambling to move his work to the corners of the building whenever it started to rain. It was manageable at the moment but he had plans.

There was so much to do, so much to build.

Thankfully, the power cells had been crossed off his list. A batch, now contained in glass containers, sat neatly on his rickety work table.

With that done, it let him tackle more of the essentials. Choosing to stop at that video store was a great decision. The cameras, camcorders, and other vital production equipment had now been brought up to his standard. He hadn't made something able to be called a brain bot, but the autonomous flying robots were able to capture his bad side.

That didn't mean he was sated. As a villain, he was always hungry for more. As if on cue, his stomach made its presence known. They needed a grocery store run soon, he could only live on granola bars for so long. He stretched his back. A bed, they needed a bed as well.

"Any luck finding a supplier yet Minion?"

Contrary to popular belief, they didn't steal everything they required. That was reserved for when it was convenient. Or if they hadn't filled their quota of criminal activity that week. Also if they were particularly bored….okay they stole most of what they needed. Just not all.

The task generally fell to Minion. Megamind's own time was better spent on inventing and planning his next great feat.

"No sir." Minion looked comical, holding the laptop in one palm while delicately typing with the fingers of his other.

Another thing to add to the list. A larger computer and a more reliable internet connection. They'd fixed the antenna to the roof and ran a long cable down but the WiFi they were stealing could have its password changed any day now. There was no telling how lazy the person on the other end was.

"The outlet store in Romania that we usually use doesn't look to exist. There don't seem to be any other villain suppliers. I did find references to something called the Toybox but nothing on how to get into contact with them. Either way, we have another problem sir..."

Minion looked to the side in the same manner that he did whenever he was withholding unfortunate news.

"Well, spit it out Minion." He tapped his foot impatiently while crossing his arms.

"We're kinda broke."

"Oh Minion" He walked over and tried to swing an arm over his shoulder. It didn't work and he dragged a crate over to stand on it. Arm in place, he continued. "and here I thought it was something serious. Follow me."

He hopped off the crate, walking towards where he'd raised a tarp earlier.

"I've been thinking a lot about our debut. It has to be BIG. It has to be showy. More importantly, it has to be villainous!"

He'd known about their money issues and with his debut to this world constantly weighing on him, well he had the perfect solution to both.

He gripped the tarp and yanked it down, revealing the brick wall he'd etched his plan into. There were only so many walls in the lair. He'd need to stop by a school and steal a chalkboard, or two.

"Minion! We're going to rob a bank!"