//------------------------------// // The Jungle // Story: Three Kittens, Two Unicorns, and a BANANA! // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Tempest followed Gru as he stalked towards the center of the city, where the huge statue of Megamind stood over a wide courtyard before the City Hall that was plainly used for press releases and the like. Margo, Edith, and Agnes were with her under a barrier she'd raised, having figured out how to maintain it herself after the Minions had demonstrated it for her back when they'd first gone to A.V.L. headquarters. Gru wasn't visibly armed, but Tempest knew how much he kept hidden under his black coat better than he did, as the Minions had worked spatial expansion enchantments on it to hold a lot more in terms of weaponry. Even without the weapons' ability to miniaturize, he had enough up his sleeves to conquer a small country. Gru finally came to a halt in the exact center of the courtyard. "I know you're here, Megamind!" he called out in a firm tone of voice. "I need to have words with you!" "Welcome to my city, Gru!" a playful voice called back, though there was anger in his tone as well. "And here I thought you called ahead because you didn't want trouble!" "That is the custom," Gru stated firmly as he looked around. "Are you going to come face me? Or do I have to hunt you down?" "Oh Gru..." the playful voice chuckled. "I thought you knew this about me by now." Gru sighed as he reached into his jacket. "Right...the difference between a supervillain and the more common rabble..." A black robot suddenly leapt up from behind the statue where it had been matching the statue's pose to stay hidden. "Presen-" the pilot in the head cockpit began as the hand shot up, seizing the rocket Gru had launched and tossing it harmlessly into the air where it exploded like a firework. "-tation!" the pilot finished as he raised both arms in a dramatic pose. Tempest narrowed her eyes as she got a better look at the figure. He was dressed all in skin tight black fabric that fit snugly without bagging at joints or outlining anything inappropriate and somehow enhanced his natural definition. There were spikes at each joint as well as at a mechanized knuckle duster on each hand. While he wasn't wearing a cape, the mech was, and it blew in the wind from the rocket's explosion. "Well, someone knows how to make an entrance," she muttered to her sisters. "So...cool!" Edith agreed. "Woooow..." Agnus marveled. "Oh dear..." Margo muttered, glancing worriedly at Edith. As the four watched and marveled, Gru raced up and began clambering up the mech Shadow of the Colossus style. As he did, he called out, "I heard you went straight!" "I heard the same of you!" Megamind called back as he maneuvered the mech in an attempt to shake Gru off, using point defense lasers of some sort as well as spike mines along the body to impede his progress. "Didn't you join the A.V.L.?" "Still maybe!" Gru replied as he dodged between laser fire and pulled a medieval shield out of his coat to block the spikes. "That way I don't have to do the paperwork!" "Oh you clever rascal!" Megamind called back as Gru reached the cockpit, only to deliver an explosive punch to the shield that sent Gru falling back to the machine's waist. The upper half of the mech disconnected, floating upward as the legs began running around crazily to unseat Gru. "How are the Minions? Still as funny as ever?" "Oh yes!" Gru called back as he pulled out a gun-like device with a lot of protrusions and jammed it into the legs. They instantly froze as controls popped out the top of the device, letting Gru control them as he made them charge after the upper half of the mech. "Still with all the crazy gadgets!" "Is that a new one?" Megamind called out excitedly. "Nefario's work, right?" "More the Minions, actually!" Gru called out. "They've been really clever ever since Tempest showed up!" "Oh, they found the focus for their proto-hivemind?" Megamind called back. "That's wonderful for them! I always knew they could do it! But isn't that a conflict of loyalties?" "Nah!" Gru called back. "My little girl isn't going to stab me in the back for at least another decade! Right Tempest?" "Depends on when I start getting an allowance!" Tempest called back playfully. "You're a father now?" Megamind called back in surprise. "Congratulations! Who's the mother? Why wasn't I invited to the wedding or baby shower? Or did they crash into your house out of space like I did?" "The girls I adopted from an orphanage!" Gru shouted back as he leapt from the legs to climb up the back of the mech. "Tempest showed up after a storm!" "You old softy, you!" Megamind declared as the mech spun on its joints so the back became the front as the hands smashed down where Gru was, making him leap off. "Never expected that from Mister-" "Freeze Ray!" Gru called out as he fired the named weapon, only for a beam from one of the mech's arms to steal the blue out of the beam, erasing it. "Still doing that?" Megamind laughed. "I thought you'd know better, especially against my dehydrator ray!" "Lucy says the same thing!" Gru countered as he kicked off a building and tree to land on the mech. "Always telling me how I could do better!" "Women, right?" Megamind declared as he hopped up in the cockpit, the mech now going in auto-pilot as he began trading blows with Gru, neither one actually landing a real blow as all were blocked or deflected. "My Roxanne is always going on about things I could do better to make a better impact. Not that I mind, since that's my thing, but you know how it is!" "Looks like we both found love!" Gru declared happily as he reached for a weapon. Suddenly both men were nose to nose, guns buried in the other's belly, and together shouted, "So why did you kidnap her?" The tableau held for several seconds, and then Gru spoke up companionably. "Think we've hammed it up enough?" "I could stand to do a bit more," Megamind allowed with a friendly grin. "With how much you do it normally, you still want more?" Gru asked in surprise. "Are you kidding?" Megamind countered. "It's been so long since I had a real chance for it that all the butchers in Metrocity have gone kosher!" Margo chuckled softly. Seeing what she was going to do, Tempest manipulated the barrier to amplify their voices. "Is this the part where you tell us an old enemy of each of yours has teamed up to set this all up?" she called out. "And that they kidnapped Roxanne and Lucy to set the two of you at each others' throats?" Edith added with a grin. "And this huge fight was a distraction and buying time to figure out what to do?" Agnus added excitedly. Megamind looked at Gru in shock. "Smart kids! You've done good with them." Gru chuckled softly. "Afraid I can't take all the credit...they were pretty smart when I got them." "By the way!" Tempest added happily. "The Minions and a fish in a robot suit just took down some skinny guy with a V on his costume and a super buff guy with no brain and a T on his. I'm assuming Mr. Fish Head is yours, Megamind?" "His name is Minion," Megamind pointed out crisply. "Not Mr. Fish Head-wait, how'd they get Titan his powers back?" "Vector's not smart enough to do that on his own, but he is the son of the former head of the Villain Bank," Gru pointed out. "Wait, super powers?" "Turns out the bonding of the power capsule can be disrupted by magic!" Tempest called out. "Lucy and Roxanne are just fine and enjoying popcorn." "Wait, how long have they been free?" Gru demanded in surprise. "Since the fight started!" Tempest answered with a smirk. "Though taking Mr. T-Pose down took a bit longer, even with the Warriors eating his face to block his breath and beam weapons!" "Warriors?" Megamind asked curiously. Gru chuckled softly. "A lot has changed, Megs. Come on, I'll introduce you..."