Minion knew there was trouble as soon as he pulled the car into the Lair. The radio was blasting AC/DC so loud he could feel his suit vibrating. That was invention music, not finalizing-details music.

But when he came into the work room, box of doughnuts in hand, Megamind was bent over the work bench, his hands steady and swiftly assembling some components on the table while the entire rest of his body moved and swayed energetically along with the music. His brow was furrowed in concentration and Minion couldn't see his eyes through the dark safety goggles but he had a certain smile that Minion knew very well.

It was the little grin of devious delight at some evil idea coming together in complete perfection. A satisfied, excited, wicked little smile that never failed to lift Minion's heart. Sir was happy. That's what that smile meant.

So things had not gone horribly wrong with their other plan, as Minion had first feared. Sir had simply thought of something better. Or at least, more fun, which often amounted to the same thing.

Minion dialed the music down to conversation level and carried the doughnuts over to the work table, opening the box and placing it at the edge of the table, away from the assorted pieces of the device. Megamind continued singing under his breath, swaying his hips and using a soldering iron to fuse small components to what looked like a computer board of some kind.

Minion's gaze roved over the table, brows lifting as he took in just how much work Megamind had already completed. The table held a number of vials, either chemical or biological Minion wasn't sure, the currently unassembled pieces of the gun Megamind was working on, another entirely assembled gun, and blueprints and calculations scattered everywhere in the chaos.

Also on the table, under a small glass dome, was the brainbot's most prized possession: a scrap of Metro Man's cape, torn away from the hero during a battle and much treasured and jealously guarded by the proud bots ever since.

Minion lifted his eyes to the rafters, where the entire swarm of bots seemed to be gathered, watching the proceedings with suspicious, narrow eyestalks.

Hmm.

"So, I take it we're not going to keep working on the reset button?"

Megamind scowled, setting aside the soldering iron. "Pah. No, Minion, we are not."

"I thought we were making good progress, Sir." It was far more complex than their normal work, and Minion had been greatly enjoying the challenge.

Megamind scoffed, and shook his head, sliding the goggles onto his forehead and reaching for a doughnut. "I don't like the theory," he said at last, swallowing a mouth of pastry and glancing up at Minion. "Wishes are not science, Minion. It's too...mmm." Crumbs scattered as he waved his hand. "Unpredictable, too chaotic. Even for supervillains. Too much can go wrong."

Minion sighed. "Brainwaves, Sir, not wishes. I don't believe it's as unpredictable as you think."

Megamind smiled at him. "I know. I do read what you give me, Minion. We're not throwing it away, just shoving it to the back burner."

"So what are we doing instead?"

Megamind grinned at him, and gestured at the table. "Behold, Minion! The key to defeating Metro Man at last!" He dropped his half-eaten doughnut back into the box and lifted the new gun reverently with both hands. "I call it—the setback gun!"

"Brilliant, Sir! And...what does it do?"

Megamind looked up at him, brow furrowed over narrow green eyes and a sly smile. "It takes away his powers, Minion."

Minion went very still, staring back at his Sir with wide eyes. "That...that—"

"Temporarily, of course," Megamind purred, stroking the barrel of the gun as if it were a brainbot. "We don't want to do anything too drastic and end up with the League of Heroes after us."

"Can you...do that? Sir?"

"I can do anything, Minion," he said softly. "We'll need a test subject, though, something organic I can infuse with Metro Man's powers."

"How do you plan to do that?"

Megamind waved casually at the other gun on the table, the one sitting by the brainbot's piece of cape. "That was the easy part, I finished that last night. We just need something to test it all on. Something organic."

Minion made a sick, unhappy face and Megamind sighed.

"Not something with a mind or a nervous system, Minion. We're mad scientists, not barbarians."

Megamind tapped his fingers against his lips, then his eyes widened, bright with sudden glee, and wide grin spread across his face as he began to laugh. "A ham. Yes. Go and get me a ham, Minion. Or a big slab of bo-log-na."

When Minion returned with a ham, Megamind had fashioned a miniature cape in Metro Man's colors from some of the scraps out of Minion's workshop. The brainbots were again in possession of their prize piece of the real cape, but remained in the rafters out of pique, passing the scrap of fabric back and forth between themselves as if to reassure that their Daddy had not damaged it.

They infused the ham.

Minion was torn between, This is the weirdest thing we have ever done, and, This is actually really brilliant.

They tested it, by attempting to carve a slice—and the knife slid off. Megamind chortled, giddy with excitement and anticipation.

He actually skipped back to the barrier they'd set up to fire from. Megamind checked the settings on the gun, then knelt down, resting the barrel on the edge of the barrier and lining up the target. The barrel began to glow a deep violet, glinting off the dark safety goggles Megamind pulled back down over his eyes.

"Fancy a ham sandwich, fillet mignon?"

Minion eyed the distant chunk of meat dubiously. "...You really think it's safe to eat the Metro Ham, after everything we're doing to it?"

"Hmm. Fair point. For all we know, it'd turn us in to dirty do-gooders."

After all of that, the actual firing seemed rather anticlimactic. The gun emitted a pulse of deep indigo light, which flickered around the ham and then faded.

This time the knife sliced right through, cleaving the ham in two halves which toppled to the floor on either side of the stool they'd propped it up on.

Megamind stared down at the halves, then released a slow breath and carefully placed the knife on the stool.

"Well," he said quietly. "That's that. We'll want Miss Ritchi for this, definitely. And I think some sort of...cage. One the brainbots can drop around Metro Man, then fly away with. We'll have to find someplace to dump him for a few days until his powers come back."

There was a little silence, and then Megamind looked up, meeting Minion's eyes, his expression searching and uncertain.

Minion, who knew very well what was troubling him, smiled and rested one hand on Megamind's small shoulder.

You are better than you know. You have always been better than you know. Maybe one day, they'll see what I see, and we won't have to be...bad, anymore.

They stood together for several quiet moments, then Megamind swallowed, and shook his head, nudging one half of the ham with his boot. "Make sure to burn this. You're right, letting anything eat it would be foolish."

"So..." Minion lifted his eyes to the enormous, complex array of machines and cords and pipes crowding the area. "What do you want me to do with the reset button, Sir? I can take everything apart, but—" But it had been a hugely complicated pain in the ass to set it all up in the first place, and if Megamind ever wanted to try it again Minion would rather not have to repeat the process.

Megamind seemed to share his reluctance, looking over the machine with sigh. "Oh, we'll just take out the power cell and unplug the damn thing. Actually, you should probably remove the power cords, just in case any brainbots try to be helpful and plug it back in."

He leaned the setback gun against his shoulder, pushing the goggles back up onto his forehead.

"The last thing we need is for it go off in the Lair."