Megamind/Roxanne, M rating
sequel to Temptress
The story of how Roxanne Ritchi became the supervillain known as the Temptress, her relationship with the superhero Megamind, and her eventual reclamation of herself.
AO3 | FFN
chapter 1 | chapter 2 | chapter 3 | chapter 4 | chapter 5 |
chapter 6 | chapter 7 | chapter 8
She throws herself into supervillainy, executes evil plots rapidly, trying, now, to avoid direct contact with Megamind as much as she can, keeping her powers locked down so tightly she gives herself a constant headache.
It wasn’t her. The universe cannot possibly be that cruel.
(that thought almost sets her off into hysterical laughter.)
Roxanne doesn’t have much faith in the universe’s benevolence.
They’re outside the library when it happens.
(of course. of course they fucking are.)
The two of them are fighting in an alley, the kind of up close, physical fight that Roxanne has been trying so desperately to avoid. He aims the de-gun at her, almost gets a shot in, but she dodges and kicks, knocking the gun from his hand. She shoves him back against the brick wall, her own gun beneath his chin, and—
Their bodies are pressed together, their faces so close, both of them panting, and Roxanne can’t keep her powers from pulsing at the nearness of him and then Megamind’s gaze drops to her mouth and—
She breaks.
Roxanne kisses him.
She presses her lips hard to his and licks into his mouth, the last bit of her control snapping as he makes a wanting sound against her lips and clutches her and kisses her back.
When she finally forces herself to end the kiss, his eyes stay closed for a moment before fluttering open, before he looks at her.
Her lipstick is on his mouth, a scarlet mark like blood. He gasps for breath and looks at her with those impossible green eyes of his and Roxanne slams the walls of her control down as hard as she can and smiles at him as the Temptress instead of Roxanne.
“Aren’t you pretty when you’re breathless,” she says, instead of screaming.
Roxanne breaks every mirror in her apartment that night, unable to stand the sight of her own reflection.
She wants to die. She wants to die so very badly.
She can think of twelve different ways to make that happen, just off the top of her head.
Would Megamind take care of her houseplants if she killed herself?
Something in her won’t let her do it, though; the part of her that holds onto life with its fingernails and screams, the same part of her that got her out of the lab, that drove her to supervillainy as a way to be safe, the part of her that just won’t stop fighting
god she hates that part of herself.
What’s funny, what’s really supremely fucking hilarious is that Roxanne can have whatever she wants, now. There’s no one to stop her.
(wouldn’t absolute power be terribly boring? he asked her once, and she’d said I’ll tell you after I’ve tried it, sweetheart)
Absolute power isn’t boring, it turns out. It’s agony.
The Temptress continues her usual acts of supervillainy, making sure to avoid contact with Megamind, now.
The Temptress leaves him bombs and tricks and traps and riddles.
The Temptress leaves Megamind a note with a lipstick print, writes stay pretty, sweetheart.
(instead of what Roxanne wants to write which is I love you I love you I’m so sorry.)
She’s going to have to leave. She’s going to have to leave this city; she can’t stay here, can’t be this close to him.
Roxanne means that last stay pretty note as a goodbye when she writes it, but after the last plan, when she’s sitting in the middle of her apartment, with her plant Cyril next to her, trying dully to decide what else in her apartment she cares about about enough to take with her—
She has to—she has to see him.
One more time. Just one more time. One more time, to say goodbye in person.
She goes as the Temptress; she can’t bear to go as Roxanne. Her most beautifully seductive outfit, a cape, red lipstick like blood.
Roxanne can’t kiss him, but the Temptress has kissed plenty of people, red lipstick prints left behind like a signature.
(One last kiss to remember her by.)
He’s alone in his hideout when she arrives; even the brainbots are gone. She walks in the shadows, looking for—
Her breath catches.
Megamind.
He’s working on one of his battlesuits, kneeling with a wrench in his hand, his head bent. She watches him for a few moments, memorizing him, pressing this sight of him into her memory as hard and as deeply as she can.
She sees the moment that he realizes he’s being watched, sees him go still, his posture suddenly tense.
Well.
Looks like it’s time for the Temptress to do what she does best.
Roxanne steps out of the shadows, lips curled into a smile. He looks up at her sharply, his eyes going wide.
“Temptress,” he breathes.
(Temptress, not Roxanne, and that hurts, oh it does, but it’s better like this. She doesn’t know what she would have done if he had called her by her name.)
He drops the wrench and scrambles to his feet, stumbles back from her—oh. oh that’s not—is he afraid of her? actually afraid of her?
(how many pieces can her heart break into? she ground the mirrors in her apartment down to powder when she broke them; perhaps hearts break like that, too.)
The Temptress’ smile stays on her lips; Roxanne walks forward with the Temptress’ walk.
Megamind’s back hits the wall and she makes her smile widen as she catches both his wrists in her hands, pulls them above his head, pins them to the wall there. He lets her do it, doesn’t fight her at all, and he really must be afraid of her, because Roxanne hasn’t even used her powers yet.
He can’t even look at her.
“Megamind,” she murmurs, “we meet again.”
(come on, Megamind, take your cue, please take it)
He turns his head away, eyes still closed.
She shifts her grip on his wrists, so that she’s holding both of them in one of her hands, now, trails gloved fingertips down the side of his throat, testing—
He shudders.
“That’s new,” she says, wanting to scream, “you’ve never been afraid of me, before.”
Megamind swallows visibly.
“What are you scared of, sweetheart?” she asks, leaning close to brush her lips against his ear. (if she is damned she is going to be damned properly) “Are you afraid I’m going to kiss you again?”
She lets just the smallest bit of her powers out as she nuzzles just beneath his ear.
(god his skin is so soft; he smells so good)
“Are you afraid you’ll fall in love with me if I do?” she whispers.
“—too late,” Megamind says.
Which is exactly what she wanted and did not want to hear, and she kisses him again.
Last time, one last time, and she moves her hand from his wrists and laces her fingers with his and she lets her powers spike, because, god, if she’s going to make him kiss her, she’s at least going to make sure he enjoys it and—
Megamind pushes her away.
“Don’t,” he hisses.
Roxanne stumbles back, confusion making her head spin. How—but—?
She sends out another pulse of power towards him.
“Stop it,” he says, sounding furious, “that doesn’t work on me.”
Doesn’t—doesn’t—
It doesn’t—but—but it does; it does work; she’s seen it working; she’s seen it—
She lunges for him, needing to see—tilts his chin up so she can look into his eyes, and his pupils are blown and she sees how fast he’s breathing, sees the way he parts his lips at her touch, and that is all—
“But you are attracted to me,” she says. “I can tell!”
“Yeah, I am,” Megamind snaps. He jerks himself out of her grip and steps away from her, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.
“You let me kiss you!” Roxanne says. “Twice!”
“Yeah,” Megamind says, voice flat, “I did.”
“You said that you loved me!” Roxanne bursts out.
Megamind flinches at that, his shoulders curving inwards. He looks down at the floor.
“Can we please not talk about that?” he asks, his voice small and vulnerable.
“…was that…” Roxanne stares at him, feeling as if the world has suddenly started spinning in the opposite direction, “but that had to be the pheromones.”
It had to be; what other possible explanation could there be for—
He looks up at her sharply, and his expression—
That’s—
(—that’s not possible; that’s not possible; it’s not)
“Do you—do you mean you actually just—like me?” she says, utterly bewildered. “As a person?”
“Oh, come on; how could I not?!” Megamind bursts out. He gestures wildly at her. “You’re—brilliant and you’re funny and you’re—so much—kinder than you pretend to be and you—you treat the brainbots like they’re alive and—you’re—”
He gestures again.
She stares at him.
“…you didn’t even say beautiful,” she says.
“—yes, beautiful, that too, obviously,” he says, dragging his hands over his face.
“No,” Roxanne says, moving towards him, staring at him, not daring to blink for fear he’ll disappear, “I mean—beautiful—that’s what everybody always says, when I ask them. They always—beautiful is the only thing people ever say, the only reason they ever—”
She reaches out for him again and he watches her warily but he lets her do it, lets her touch his face gently, lets her hold it in her hands.
Is that—
—is that really him letting her do this? Is that Megamind letting her do this?
“The pheromones really still don’t work on you?” she breathes.
“No,” he says quietly. “No, they don’t.”
“I thought…”
She spikes her powers violently, as strong as she can make them go, watches his face as she does it, and his expression—there’s no blankness that comes into his eyes.
Roxanne drops her powers.
“Nothing?” she says.
He shakes his head, gently enough not to dislodge her hands from his face and—
oh.
It’s like light bursting in her heart, bursting all around her; this beautiful impossible thing that she’s wanted so badly for so long; he loves her; her powers don’t work on him they don’t work on him and Megamind actually loves her.
She kisses him again and he wraps his arm around her waist and touches her jaw lightly with the fingertips of his other hand and this is happening; it’s actually happening.
Roxanne breaks the kiss.
“—let me keep you,” she says. She presses a line of fluttering kisses up his jaw, feverish and desperate, “Let me keep you; stay with me. Let me love you, let me make you my king; we can rule this city, you know we can; together we’d be unstoppable—”
“I know—” Megamind says, turning his head and pressing a kiss to her hair, “I know we would; that’s why—that’s why I can’t—”
“Please,” she begs. “Please, Megamind, please—”
“Roxanne—Roxanne, I—I can’t—”
“Why?” she snarls, pulling back to look at him in the face. “Why not? Why do you care about these people so much? Don’t you know what they’re like?”
(so close so close to having him; she can’t lose him now; she can’t)
“Yes,” he says, “I—I do know what they’re like.”
He strokes his fingers through her hair—god—fuck that feels—Roxanne can’t help but lean into the touch.
“I care because—because I have to believe that they can be better. If I give them a chance.”
She makes a noise of hurt misery and Megamind kisses her which is—why can’t she have this; why can’t she have it for real?
“Why are you so good?” she asks, when he breaks the kiss.
He laughs, quiet and breathless.
“I mean, I try really hard to be,” he says.
She growls—he is good; he’s too good; and it’s the goodness of him that she’s in love with but it’s the goodness of him that’s keeping them apart.
He bumps his nose against hers, and the unexpected—
That’s not something anyone’s ever done with her.
It’s so—so sweet and affectionate, no blind passion, just—
“You could, um—you could try?” he says, and now he’s playing with her hair again, god, Roxanne is going to die. “Being—good. I mean,” he continues, “you could—I could help you. If—if you wanted?”
She stares at him.
Is he serious?
Didn’t they already have this fucking conversation on the roof?
“…wouldn’t your sidekick have something to say about that?” she says.
“Minion?” Megamind says. “No. Minion likes you; I thought you—”
“—not Minion; Metro Man,” she says, lips twisting.
Megamind blinks at her, and then laughs.
“Flatterer,” he says, and kisses her quickly, taking her by surprise again. “No, Wayne wouldn’t have a problem with it; he’d actually—heh, he’d probably actually be wildly excited; he’s been wanting to retire for years, and you stopping supervillainy would probably give him the perfect excuse, especially if—”
He cuts himself off, eyes going wide.
“Especially if what?” Roxanne asks, watching him.
“Um, I mean—I actually got into this—the—uh—the superhero thing, I mean,” Megamind says, stumbling over his words, “—for community service, and so I’m fairly certain I could swing something like that for you if you were interested, and then Wayne really would be able to retire, because he’d have a replacement and—and we could. You said—you said that—together, we’d be unstoppable, and we could—we could. We could…be partners. If you wanted.”
Her lips part.
Partners?
“Partners,” she says, “I—yes, partners, I’d—I’d like that.”
For a moment the vision seems real enough to touch, but then reality sets in and Roxanne remembers who she is and what she is with a sickening twist of her heart.
She steps back from him, crosses her arms over her chest, trying to hold in the hurt.
“…it’s a nice dream, sweetheart,” she says quietly, “But it—it’d never work. They’d never let me; you have to realize that—”
“I—”
He reaches for her, but she can’t, she can’t let him touch her.
“Don’t,” she says sharply, wanting to be angry, needing to be angry, because anger is better than despair, “don’t act like—you say you know what they’re like, but you have no idea—”
“Roxanne—”
“Do you know what they did to me, when my powers first showed up?” she asks fiercely.
She’d thought he did, thought so when they talked on the roof, but maybe she was wrong. How can he think that partners is something possible for her if he knows?
“They locked me in a lab,” she says, “because they said I was ‘too dangerous’ to be around normal people. They put a shock collar on me, to teach me to control myself. Like I was a dog. I was fourteen. So don’t you tell me that you know what they’re like, because—”
“They did that to me, too,” Megamind says.
Roxanne stops, goes very still.
“…they…”
“Not the shock collar,” he continues, “but there was this—this helmet that they designed for me, after I got arrested as a teenager. It was meant to interfere with cognitive function, to keep me in line. I was lucky, the Warden—I only—I only actually wore it a couple of times; after that, it was always mysteriously broken when they went to put it on me, and like I said, after that, I got—let out on parole for community service and they stopped— I’m—I’m so sorry, Roxanne. I’m so sorry that you didn’t have—someone to help you, like I did. I’m so sorry that—that you were alone. But you don’t—you don’t have to be alone anymore. Not if—not if you don’t want to be.”
Roxanne stares at Megamind, tilts her head.
“They did that to you,” she says, feeling very cold, “and you became a superhero for them?”
“I—I mean—” Megamind’s fingers twist nervously, “that was—like I said, that was community service, originally, and also sort of—um. Damage control. When we were teenagers, Wayne wasn’t exactly the most—he was already a hero, but he didn’t—he needed someone to make sure he remembered to think…”
“And now you want me to play nice,” Roxanne says, “with these vicious, mindless idiots who decided to torture both of us for being different?”
(she wants to burn this universe, wants to turn it off like they talked about on the roof)
“They called me evil,” she says. “Well, that’s what they got. That’s what they deserve.”
(this world deserves it, deserves her, deserves everything she can do to it and more, deserves—)
“But that’s not what you deserve, Roxanne,” Megamind says.
Roxanne goes still again in shock.
Megamind comes to her, his hands fluttering as he touches her arms, her face, the touches gentle and soft and filled with so much love it makes her heart ache.
“Please,” he whispers, “you deserve to be happy, Roxanne. Please let me—let me try to help you to be happy.”
“I—can’t—I can’t,” she says miserably, tears filling her eyes, spilling over. “I can’t, my powers—I can control them now, but they’re always there; I can’t turn them off, and they’ll never let me—they’ll never let me, not like this—”
“I can fix that,” Megamind blurts out. “I—I mean! Not—not fix like—it’s not that you’re broken, I don’t mean fix like—I just—” He takes a sharp breath through his nose. “I can see that your constant low-level pheromone emission might pose a problem in certain circumstances, and I think I’ve come up with a way around it.”
(a way around it?)
“—you—?”
“Ah! Yes! I mean, it was actually sort of on accident,” he says. “I was trying to figure out why your powers don’t work on me; I assumed it had something to do with my species processing pheromones differently, or possibly having different pheromones key off attraction, so that it was almost like…mmm…like I was somehow ‘blind’ to the signals that you were giving off, yes?”
“…yes?” Roxanne says, rather dazedly.
“No!” Megamind says, gesturing excitedly with both hands. “Turns out I was completely wrong; it’s not that my body doesn’t sense the pheromones you give off, it’s that my body actually produces a chemical that functions to block them! It’s really quite fascinating—I did some experiments and I’ve put something together that I think should enable you to completely control the pheromone emission—”
“—and—taking this would…get rid of the pheromone powers entirely?” Roxanne asks slowly.
Fix her, yes, but also leave her powerless, defenseless, not safe—
“I mean—” Megamind wrinkles his nose, “in high enough doses, it could probably nullify them completely, so that you couldn’t access them at all. But obviously that wouldn’t be the goal. We’d have to do some experiments, of course, and I’d want you to look over my research to see if you think I’ve missed anything, but I’m confident that if we worked together, we could find a dosage level that would allow you to inhibit them just enough. So that you wouldn’t be giving off the constant low-level emission, but you’d still be able to use them if you wanted to and I’m—not really sure why you’re looking at me like that?”
Oh god.
“—nullifying them completely—wouldn’t have to be the goal?” she asks, wavering on the edge of incredulous tears.
“Wh—no, of course not, Roxanne,” Megamind says, as if of course not is an answer that anyone else besides him would give, “of course not—I—you don’t have to try the pheromone inhibitor at all if you don’t want to; we can come up with something else if you like. I just—it’s—it’s your choice; it’s always your choice. I just want you to know that you do have that as a choice. That’s all.”
“That’s all,” Roxanne repeats. “That’s all? Megamind, that’s—you’re—”
She stops and gestures a little wildly, unable to come up with the words to adequately convey how absolutely impossibly perfect and good he is. He shrinks back a little, looking doubtful, and clearly the gestures aren’t conveying her feelings properly either, so Roxanne throws throws herself into his arms and kisses him, crying and laughing at the same time.
The sound of the door opening, and of voices and laughter, makes them both jump and look over at—
“—you laugh but you know I’m right!” Minion says, to Metro Man. “You’re just—uh…”
The two of them catch sight of Megamind and Roxanne. There is a long, fraught kind of moment in which they all stare at each other.
Metro Man coughs.
“Um,” Megamind says.
“Sooooo…” Metro Man says, “is this a battle thing or a date thing? ‘Cause I can’t tell if I should strike a heroic pose or not?”
Roxanne blinks.
That is. Not the reaction she was expecting. From Megamind’s friends. To the idea of her with Megamind.
Minion, at Metro Man’s side, is goggling at the Megamind and Roxanne, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly, but his expression is just shock, no disgust or anger or outrage.
“Um,” says Megamind again.
Holy shit.
Do these people—
—do these people actually not hate her?
Roxanne laughs, struck by sudden joy.
“Oh, there won’t be any need for that,” she says, giving Minion and Metro Man a Temptress smirk. “Haven’t you heard? I’ve decided to renounce my wicked ways and reform for the love of a good man.”
“—really?” Megamind says.
She looks at him again; his lips are parted, a beautiful pink blush lighting up the edges of his ears and his gorgeous sharp cheekbones.
(she loves him she loves him she loves him so much)
“Yeah,” she says softly, “yeah, that’s—really.”
“…okay! That’s—that’s great, guys,” Metro Man says, “uh. Yeah. Minion and I are just gonna—go hang out at my place, now, right after I say I told you so—yeah, okay, Minion; I’m coming; I’m coming—”
Megamind definitely makes a rude gesture at him as he’s kissing her, and Roxanne laughs into the kiss.
“‘I told you so?” Roxanne asks Megamind later, arching an eyebrow. “Did he really?”
Megamind blushes and gives her a rueful grin.
“Everyone did, Roxanne,” he says.
Roxanne laughs in amazed joy.
…to be continued.
Day 26 of my Birthday Fic Month! Thank you all for continuing to read, like, reblog, and comment; it really means a lot to me!
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