"What are you doing?"

Bernard looked up from the large table where he sat, currently in the manor's library. Standing in the doorway was Wayne, just returning home from another busy day of being a fireman for the city. The man smiled faintly in greeting, sitting up in his chair since he had been slumping over one book in particular, and adjusted his glasses as the other man approached him. "Research."

"Research?" Wayne asked. He dipped down to give him a quick kiss in greeting, but Bernard held him down for a moment or so longer before finally letting him go.

"For Roxanne," Bernard said, waiting for the fog to disperse from his glasses as he looked back down over the pages. "She's a bit worried about the baby."

"Worried? Why?"

Bernard waited until Wayne had pulled a chair out and sat down before explaining. "Because she's just now realized what kind of trouble she might be in for."

"You're making me worried now, Bernard," Wayne said gravely.

"I mean, she doesn't know what Megamind's race was like when it came to gestation or birth. Did they stay in the womb for a long time, or were they a species who only carried their young for a short amount of time? What if they laid eggs? Hell, it might even come bursting out of her stomach like that Xenomorph..." Bernard said as he turned the page, and made a face at the fairly graphic illustration of a baby being born.

"I find that insulting, as a fellow alien." Wayne frowned. "But I can see the reason for worry."

"Humans gestate for nine months... what if his kind gestates for shorter? Or even longer? She could be pregnant for who knows how long, and try to explain that to those around you without giving away that your boyfriend is an alien," pointed out the librarian. "This whole baby thing just makes me all the more grateful that I'm a man, and so are you." He paused suddenly, before eyeing Wayne. "...Unless I can somehow knock you up. Or the other way around..."

"Last I checked, I'm not pregnant," Wayne replied with a smirk. "How about you?" He reached over and pressed his hand to Bernard's stomach. "Any strange cravings or morning sickness?"

"No," Bernard replied, still looking a little apprehensive.

"Relax, Bernard. I don't have ovaries, or anything that can create eggs to inject into hosts. I don't work that know how I work," he said, referring to their intimate moments that they shared in the privacy of their room. "I'm, for all intents and purposes, very much a human male, just with some changes."

"And what changes," mumbled Bernard. His eyes began to slowly trail down Wayne's body before the man reached out, gripped his chin lightly, and lifted his head so they were looking into one another's eyes.

"Anyway, we were talking about Roxanne?" he asked.

"Right, right. Sorry. You're distracting." Bernard tugged free of the man's grasp and looked back down at one of the few books he had borrowed from the library. "While these are fine when it comes to giving birth to a human baby, we really can't be sure what Roxanne is going to give birth to yet. It could be mostly human, but she could also have an exact hybrid. Or a total Megamind-alien baby, and if she does, my God she'll want a C-section."

"Yeah that... that head of his... it was always big, even when I first met him..." Wayne mumbled.

"What's all the hubbub about in here?"

The two men looked to the door and spotted Minion, arms full of laundry.

"Minion!" Wayne sat up in his chair, eyes widening with a bright glint. "Just the fish we wanted to see!"

"Really?" Bernard asked.

"Oh yes? Well, I'd be jealous if you wanted to see any other talking fish." Minion walked into the room and set the basket down on the table. "Need something fixed?"

"No, no. You're older then Megamind, aren't you?" Wayne asked.

"I was five when I was given to him by his parents, yes. Why?" asked the fish.

"Then you need to go and explain to Roxanne how Megamind's race reproduced. How long did the mothers carry the babies for? Are their heads big when they're born, or do they gradually swell as the baby grows? She's just... she's a little scared, and I think she'd appreciate being let in on the finer aspects," the man explained, and Minion began folding up the dried laundry in his basket as he talked.

"Did they come bursting out of the mothers' chests?" Bernard asked, wanting to know first.

Minion scoffed.

"No," he said as he set aside some underwear. "He was born just like any regular mammal."

"Was his head huge?"

"Well. Compared to human babies, maybe just a little bit?" Minion said, folding up some nightclothes now. "But his race all had swelled heads, so it was a good thing for him to be born with a head that size."

"Roxanne's gonna love that," Bernard said dryly.

"And how long?" Wayne asked, wanting to know. "I mean, how long did his mother have to carry him?"

"Oh gee. Um..." The fish had to think back and think very hard over this question. "I think... if I compare it to human months, which they measured differently... around... seven and a half months...?"

"That short?" Wayne asked gravely.

"Mmmhmm. But when he was born he was a healthy size for his kind. Even human beings would call his birth weight healthy and normal," Minion explained.

"So they grow fast inside their mothers..." Wayne mused.

"Not fast for them."

"How about you, Minion? How were you born?" Bernard suddenly asked; all this talk of babies made him honestly curious.

Minion looked surprised, since nobody, outside of Megamind, had ever asked such a thing. The fish grinned toothily. "Well, I was born like any other fish of my planet. My mother deposited her eggs into my father's tentacles, and that's where me and my hundred-some brothers and sisters grew. We were hatched, and stuck by our father, since it was his job to raise us once we were born. I remember when we would get scared we'd hide in his mouth, since it was the safest place for us."

"...Your... father's... tentacles...?" Bernard asked slowly.

The fish wiggled his three tentacles at the two men. "These!"

"So those little... uh... balls, under you, are what...?"

"My balls."

"Oh Jesus!" Wayne looked shocked, while Bernard burst into laughter. "Really?" he asked, honestly surprised by this bit of news about the fish who had always been around him.

Minion began to slowly sink in his water, feeling as though maybe telling them that was the wrong thing to do. If he could blush, he would certainly do it now. "Well... yes?"

"That's amazing!" Bernard laughed, clapping his hands together. "All these years he's had his balls hanging out and nobody noticed!"

"Well now they will!" fretted the fish, self-conscious.

"It doesn't change a thing," Wayne said, as straight-faced as he could. "You're still Minion and a part of the family. You can't... can't change who you are, or how you're built, but we don't want you to. So stop hiding like that, you're fine."

"Really?" Minion asked.

"Really."

"So I guess you grew rapidly too then, huh?" Bernard asked.

"Oh my yes. Very... um... quick," Minion replied. "Much like Sir did, both physically and mentally. At eight days old, he was roughly the size of a month-old human baby. And don't even mention his mental growth. It was astounding!" the fish gushed, glad to have pushed the topic off of himself now. "He knew how to safely operate power tools at only two weeks old!"

"...Who... would give a baby power tools...?" Wayne asked slowly, almost afraid to ask.

"The men who were looking after him in prison. Then it kind of backfired, since he created a tricycle of doom that blasted a hole in the prison wall. We both got into all kinds of trouble..." Minion explained, but then laughed. "Man. Good times. Of course, this was before Father came and adopted us both. If it weren't for him, who knows what we might have ended up as."

"You might have ended up as evil bad guys or something," Bernard joked. "You know, wreaking havoc on a world that didn't understand you, and there'd be one lone man standing between you and world domination."

"Who?" Wayne asked.

"Oh gee, I don't know. The man who can fly, has super speed, super strength... need I say more?" Bernard asked.

"Oh!"

"What's going on in here?" Megamind joined in the conversation, walking into the room with an armful of books. "What are you all laughing about?"

"You." Bernard answered.

"Oh, no we're not Sir," Minion said quickly. "We're talking about how bad we might have ended up if Father hadn't come and saved us from the prison."

"Ah," Megamind said as he set his books on the table, before eyeing the book that Bernard had open in front of him. "...A baby book?" he asked.

"For Roxanne. Since she's so swamped with work I thought it fair I look into this whole pregnancy thing for her. Then I can talk to her about it," Bernard said. "Plus, I'm a bit curious myself as to how every one of us came into being. Well. Minus the aliens of course," he said, glancing at all three of them. What a life; being a werewolf, living in a house with three aliens of various species and his pregnant friend. This could be a movie or something.

Megamind nodded slowly.

"That, and she's worried if your alien DNA will cause the baby any problems," Bernard said, honestly unaware that Roxanne hadn't brought this topic up with the blue man.

"What?" Megamind asked.

"Uh... you know," Bernard continued cautiously. "She's human, you're... not, and from what Minion just told us your kind only carried the babies for a little over seven months. For us humans it's nine, so I'm just... wondering over what her pregnancy will be like..." Crap. She hasn't told him, has she?

Megamind stood there in numb silence for a moment. Why hadn't he ever considered that fact more deeply than just a passing fancy? He had been worried if the baby would be born healthy, but what would it do to Roxanne'shealth? What if the baby grew too fast within her body and it caused her horrible pain? The birth process too could be a very dangerous affair when the time came. His kind had large heads; would their child have a large head? These thoughts brought on all of the fears which he had managed to push away for the past few days, after his run-in with that old woman, who none of his 'family' knew about yet at all.

His face must have reflected his current mood, since Minion was beside him quickly, placing his metal hand to his back. "Sir please, don't worry like this! We've got the best doctors in the city willing to look after her, and she has us all to support her. I don't see why Ms. Ritchi should be scared at all."

"Maybe because she has a parasite she knows almost nothing about growing in her womb?" Bernard asked.

"Bernard, stop that!" Wayne said quickly. "You're just saying this to be a pain. Stop it."

Bernard frowned, and stared down at the book in front of him. "Not a pain," he muttered.

"We'll talk about this later," Wayne whispered to him before turning to look at his brother, who still looked very, very unsure of himself. "Every pregnancy faces worries and fears, Megamind. Not just this one."

"None of the others have an alien for a father," Megamind pointed out quietly.

"So what if you're an alien? You're a genius! You have the access and ability to create countless devices completely unheard of to the people on this planet. Roxanne is in good hands, and we all have to work hard and ensure that she knows this, and that we won't desert her when the times get harder. And believe me, things will get tougher. All right?" he asked, going so far to get out of his chair and walk over to his brother, setting a hand to his shoulder. When Megamind didn't answer, he squeezed his hand just that fraction closer. "All right?"

"All right," Megamind answered. "Sorry, it's just... been a rough couple of weeks, you know?" he asked.

"I understand." Wayne nodded before glancing up to see Minion leaving, having folded all his laundry and now heading off to put them away. "Hey, how about tonight I make us something to eat? Give Minion a day off."

"What!" Minion heard this and put his feet into reverse, looking in on the three. "No!"

"Oh come on, you do everything around here," Wayne said. "It isn't fair. You're allowed a day off, aren't you? You're like a mother, always giving and never taking."

"It's my purpose in life to take care of Sir, and by extension you, as well as Ms. Ritchi and Mr. Dunning. I like doing things," Minion said with a frown. "I can't help it, it's in my make up."

"Make up?" Megamind turned his head, staring at the fish with a confused expression.

"Oh uh, before they asked how... how my species raised their young, and with us, it's the males who raise the children... not the females. So... so by definition I'm answering to that hard wired instinct to look after you all because it's what the males of my kind did. So..." Minion trailed off.

"So nothing. I'm going to cook, and I'll turn you around and send you out of the kitchen each time you try to walk in. No way about it," Wayne said firmly. "All right?"

Minion knew when he had lost an argument, especially when Wayne put his hands on his hips like that. "All right, all right. If you say so. But if you burn anything in my kitchen there'll be heck to pay."

=M=

He screamed in frustration as his sword swung at full force, and he groaned when he was splattered with thick, rich blood that came spurting out of the wound. The sword, lodged in the chest cavity of the vampire, wouldn't come free. He hauled at it, desperately, to pull it free, but gave up when the vampire suddenly swung one of its fists at him. Backwards he rolled and landed upright, before jumping to his full stance, and readied himself.

The vampire, sword in chest, was badly injured and bleeding heavily. It appeared to be in pain with every breath through its cold dead lips, and yet still it refused to fall. Berserkers were always tricky, always hard, but why had he had to run into one now?

Then it charged like a runaway freight train right at him, and Megamind dropped onto his back as the crazed creature ran over him completely, but he'd drawn his limbs in close and just narrowly avoided being trampled to death. But his hand shot out, grabbed the handle of his father's sword, and pulled it out with a sickening crunch as the beast staggered and went rolling. Quick as he could Megamind got to his feet and raced after the beast again, swinging his sword with precision, and one mighty swipe later the head of the vampire went tumbling to the floor, thick blood staining as it rolled.

Megamind panted as the twitching, bleeding body lay before him, and took a moment to shut his eyes.

"Lawyer," he muttered to himself, before he began the nasty business of cutting off the remaining limbs of the dead Berserker, hands shaking as he did.

What was wrong with him? He'd never been so torn up by a Berserker since that awful night. His timing was foggy and he'd gotten scratched across his chest, and now he had a wound that was bleeding, seeping into his clothes. This upset him, since getting blood out of material was always difficult for Minion and he hated making more work for his friend. Not only that, it felt horrible.

The alien collapsed to the ground once the job was done, despite having not shoveled the remains into his handy garbage bag. Ripping his hat from his head he tossed it aside, before pressing his hand to the wound that still flowed freely. Thanks to the location of the attack, a farm over an hour's drive from the city, he could allow himself a moment of respite, yet at the same time this separated him from anyone else. It was a dangerous, yet welcome, situation to find himself. If there were any other vampires nearby, he'd be in a lot of trouble.

"Why do you do it if you hate it?"

Megamind was on his feet in seconds, sword raised, and swung it around to where the voice had come from.

It was her. The same old woman he had seen the day he met Roxanne's family. His eyes widened, demanding answers without the use of words.

"In time, in time," she said. She was actually on her feet now, and came walking up to the remains of the vampire. She shook her head, sighing. "Such a waste of strength."

"Why do you pity them?" Megamind demanded, sword still pointed at her.

"Somebody has to," the woman replied, as she reached down and stroked the head of the disembodied head. "Do not forget that they were people once."

"I know that, I'm not an idiot," he shot back testily, wound still aching terribly.

"Child, I would never call you that." She lifted her gaze to finally look at him, and Megamind wished she hadn't, wished that the shawl around her hadn't slipped slightly at that time to show him her eyes.

They were old eyes, the kind of eyes the universe itself would hold, if it had a head to carry eyes in. These eyes, these probing, black, serious eyes, had seen so much in her life, that he was nothing but a speck of dust in the universe to those eyes.

"And how is your lovely lady? How is the baby?" the woman suddenly asked.

"...F... fine?" Megamind asked, before realizing he was talking to this woman as if everything was happy and normal and he wasn't standing in vampire remains. He lifted his sword again. "How do you know about that? Tell me, now!" he demanded.

She chuckled, and Megamind felt his stomach tie up in knots.

"What do you do, wait until I defeat someone and show up?" he asked quietly. "Because if so, that's pretty stalker-ish of you." This, too, got a chuckle for an answer. "Stop laughing at me!" he said, sounding more like a pouting five-year-old than a hardened vampire hunter.

"Good luck with your mother."

"What?" Megamind's voice came out as a hoarse whisper.

"Good luck."

"HOW do you-"

Just as the last time, a violent, strong gust of wind suddenly erupted from nowhere. The alien shut his eyes and shielded his face as the wind seemed to cut into his skin itself, and when it finally died down, when he could finally lower his arms, the woman was gone. Megamind hurried in the direction she had been standing, rushing through the remains of the berserker as well as the cattle that it had been feasting on. The smell was horrible, but it was a smell he had long learned to handle.

Megamind continued running, eyes scanning the big, vast field. There was nowhere for a woman to hide, no trees to take shelter behind, no bushes... so where...?

And how had she known he had finally agreed to meet with his Mother? How did she know of Roxanne? Of him at all? Megamind had been nothing but careful his entire life when it came to being found out, and yet here was this woman who appeared to know absolutely everything happening in his life.

Either she was a malevolent spirit haunting his very being, or a very nosy woman who had managed to infiltrate the family. If the latter was the case, who was she getting details from? Who would give up everything about him to a woman like this? Bernard sprung to mind, and Megamind wished it hadn't. Accusing his brother's boyfriend for breaking his pact with them, accusing him of talking to outsiders about their lives, would get him on the receiving end of Wayne's fists to his precious face.

The sudden flush of heat and pain from his throbbing wound brought Megamind back to reality. He turned around, and spotted just how far he had run from the attack site. Megamind cursed as he began to slowly make his way back to the site.

Wayne had been so happy when he'd finally announced he'd meet with their Mother. Megamind and Roxanne had talked long into the night about the situation, Roxanne offering advice but also listening to him when he voiced his fears. He didn't want to be hurt again by the woman; he didn't want to feel as though she cared again only for her to leave him all over again. Maybe it was partly Mother's fault for his fear of abandonment. Or was he just being petty?

"Don't be like that..." Roxanne had whispered as she trailed a hand down the side of his face gently. "You're not being petty."

"I'm not?" Megamind asked quietly, eyes staring vacantly ahead.

"No, of course not." She shook her head, before shifting closer to him and pulling him closer to her until his forehead rested against her shoulder. "But you're already making an attempt to fix this, to face her, and I'm so proud of you."

"Are you really, or are you just saying that?" he asked, smiling faintly before pressing a soft kiss to her collarbone.

"I'm not one to mince words. You know that." Megamind could practically see her smirk in his mind. The way her nose wrinkled slightly, and that playful gleam in her eyes.

"I know," Megamind whispered.

"It's only natural to be afraid. Everyone gets afraid at some point in their lives," Roxanne explained as she began to gently caress the back of his head, a motion he always quite appreciated.

"Not alien vampire hunters," he had sighed, letting his eyes slip shut as his arm settled on her side. Oh God. Was that a bump already? She was what, over two months now? He shifted his hand so it was no longer on her side, but pressing against the small bump that creased her clothing. "...Not fathers."

"Fathers get scared just as much as regular men," Roxanne said firmly before placing her hand over his. "Just like mothers."

"...Are you scared?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't."

"Do you think we'll be fine?"

"I... don't know."

Megamind hated that twinge of uncertainty in her voice. He wanted to banish it, to destroy it and rid it from Roxanne so she would never doubt herself or him ever again. The alien had shifted, and had pulled her into his arms this time, a pathetic attempt at protecting and shielding her from doubts and feelings the two were plagued with.

Thankfully she didn't question it, she didn't question him. Instead her slender arms wrapped around him in return, and she pressed a kiss to his jaw before they had just laid there in one another's arms throughout the rest of the night.

There was so much to talk and worry over. It was getting insane.

"Life was never like this before," Megamind muttered as he pushed the remains into the garbage bag.

But would he change it?

Never, of course not... but he wouldn't mind feeling in control of his life again. To no longer have these strong feelings about things, to find himself staring out the window when he didn't remember moving to it. He blamed the stress, he blamed the fears and worries his mind had never lingered on before...

That was all he could blame, wasn't it?

To be continued