Despicable Me: Maternal and Dangerous

I apologize for not writing anything recently. Kinda been losing motivation as of late, but right now, I'm feeling back in the mood to delve right back into the fandom.

Also, I've been reading back a few of my DM stories and I noticed that I've been neglecting Lucy a little bit. I don't feel like I get her involved in the storyline enough. It isn't intentional since I like her as much as I like the other characters, but I've still been doing it unconsciously.

So, as an apology to her, I thought I'd start up a series of one-shots that will revolve entirely around the female AVL agent. Mostly, it'll center on her relationship with the family, but we'll probably get to see her in action at some point.

Hope you enjoy. Let's get started...

1. You're Never Getting Adopted

She was nervous, dejected and alone. The walk to her new bedroom was one she could never quite forget. It was like crossing the border of one life to another. Memories flooded her mind like puddles, each one drowning her conscience in sorrow.

Even though she was only eight-years-old, she was fairly sure that any chance of happiness had officially been buried at this point. She had spent every waking moment of her entire life trying to be accepted, but for whatever reason, nobody seemed to care. She really didn't know why, but she had narrowed it down to either two conclusions.

It was either them, or...her?

She was deathly afraid of the latter option.

Even her own parents never cared. Her mother was always distant and unloving, always seeming to resent her existence, even though the small girl had done nothing to aggravate her. The woman never gave hugs or kisses and wasn't a fan of receiving them.

Her father was a little kinder when sober, but still, caring was certainly an antonym to his description. He liked to drink a lot, and after the indulgence of alcohol, would become aggressive and terrifying, both to her and her mother.

She tried to be the best daughter she could for them, she really did, but they never paid heed to her efforts.

And now, they were dead.

That conclusive statement was followed by the painful sting of tears in her young eyes. Every chance of her parents having a change of heart and accepting her in their lives had completely vanished.

Now, it was certain that her life would be void of love, care or warmth. And that fact cut at her like a knife.

She very slowly trudged into her new bedroom, right behind the orphanage caretaker, who held a permanent scowl. She was a thin brunette, who sported extremely sharp features and a horribly arched nose. Just a small glance was all it took to guess her personality.

"Here we are." The caretaker muttered coldly. She had stated her name beforehand, but the young girl was too upset and afraid to listen. "This is your new room. Get used to it, as something tells me you're gonna be here for a long while."

Both her tone and eyes were fierce when she spoke. The eight-year-old peered up at her, her eyes gleaming with tears as she whimpered in almost a pleading voice.

"Really?" She questioned.

"Wouldn't be a surprise." She replied bluntly. "Adults only want good-looking kids."

The more she spoke, the more distressed the eight-year-old was becoming. Spending the rest of her young life with this woman sounded awful. The quicker someone came along to adopt her the better.

Suitcase in tow, the young girl dragged herself over to her new bed, as the orphanage owner left without another word. The room was cold and fairly unfurnished, with a bed, a tiny wardrobe and a small clock being the only items inside.

She sat down on the side of the bed, which held a mattress mirroring that of stone, and sulked. She emitted a low growl as she kicked over her light-blue suitcase in frustration, sending it to the wooden floor with a small thump. As new memories and insults clouded her mind, new feelings were accompanying them, all of which were beginning to overcome her.

Anger. Frustration. Betrayal.

This wasn't fair! She still had so much of her life ahead of her, and everything around her was falling apart already. Nobody seemed to give a damn, and slowly but surely, she was losing faith in anyone ever doing so. The trust she held for both herself and others was slowly beginning to fade.

She tried her best to keep her spirits high, something she'd been doing all of her life so far, but this was really getting too much. The depressing bedroom, the lack of love, the horrible transition of life. Why did this have to happen to her!?

As a multitude of furious tears blurred her vision, a few young voices began growing in volume from outside her open doorway, indicating that other children were approaching fast. In order to avoid first-day embarrassment, she quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeves and dried her tears, ready to face the onlookers.

Eventually, three children appeared in the doorway, two boys and one girl. They all looked scruffy and malnourished, their venomous expressions locking onto her as she entered their line of sight. Soon, she would learn that their personalities matched their appearances exactly.

"Hey, new kid!" One of the boys spoke. He was clearly using it as a jeer rather than a greeting. "Welcome to hell!"

"We're here to give you your...welcoming gift." The other boy continued, smirking as he added the last two words. Desperate for either attention or friendship, the eight-year-old jumped from her bed and beamed a bright smile, walking over to the trio in anticipation.

"Ooo, a gift!?" She exclaimed cheerfully. "I love gifts!"

"Yes, well, I don't think you'll like this one very much." The boy declared dryly. He quickly turned to the girl beside him and nodded his head at her. "Get her, Sharon!"

Before she had time to react, Sharon, who was around two or three years older than her, leaped and forward and grabbed her by the shoulders. With uncomfortable strength, she launched the innocent eight-year-old into the hallway, slamming her against the wall with a painful slam.

The three cackled mockingly, smirking down at her as she laid helplessly on the floor.

"Get used to that, new kid!" Sharon yelled. "We'll be here every day with another gift!"

"And don't think you can escape us!" One of the boys added. "I mean, you're never getting adopted!"

Those last four words rang through her head like a fire alarm.

You're never getting adopted!

She refused to believe the insult, passing it off as a disgusting lie used to manipulate her feelings. The bullies were just trying to anger her, that's all. Unfortunately, she could never have predicted the truth behind it, not to say she would have tried.

As the small group continued to laugh hysterically, the new orphan quickly got to her feet, clenching her fists in rage as she eyed her targets. She had never been one to take nonsense from anyone, and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Without warning, Sharon felt the cartilage in her nose bust, as the girl she previously decked punched her to the floor with a blinding swing of her fist. The riled youngster immediately turned her attention to the two boys, who slowly began backing up.

Before she could lunge forward with a right-hook, the sounds of large feet from behind grabbed her attention, electing her to turn around and investigate. She was unable to escape before the orphanage owner grabbed her and unleashed her wooden cane, which was as long as it was painful.

Each strike was agonizing, that she knew for sure. However, with an odd amount of pace, the final whack sent a vivid shudder through her entire body, throwing her mind back into consciousness...

Lucy sprang up in her bed, breaths rolling from her lungs like trains as the sweat dampened her forehead. Fear plagued her mind for a few moments, the realization of where she was and what was happening yet to confirm itself.

Eventually, she deduced that she'd experienced a nightmare, the dim bedroom in front of her eyes providing confirmation. However, it wasn't just any nightmare. That nightmare was all completely true, replaying that horrible first day in the orphanage in all of its devilish glory.

The feelings and thoughts she'd experienced seemed violently realistic, as if the whole new life she'd obtained never existed and the old one situated inside that hellhole of a building was still ongoing. Thankfully, that was far from the truth.

At first, she thought the reminder of the owner's cane and the anguish it brought finally broke her out of the dark dream, but just as she was about to lie back down and fall back to sleep, a small voice sounded from her side.

"Mom?"

Lucy spun like lightning to spy the figure beside her bed, who, with the help of the moon's timid light, she recognized instantly. I mean, who else in the house wore a pink beanie and onesie?

"Edith?" Lucy muttered, the tired lingering in her voice. She shuffled over until she was facing the nine-year-old exactly, before probing further. "What are you doing up, honey?"

"I...uh...I had a bad dream." She admitted solemnly, as if that announcement was shameful. Edith usually held up a strong guard, always hiding her feelings and hating to confess her fears. But, as of late, she'd been finding more solace in Lucy than she had done before, making her a little more comfortable to express her emotions in front of her.

Lucy had developed a strong relationship with Edith, mostly because she reminded her of herself at that age. They possessed very similar characteristics, and though her love for her stretched as far as it did with the others, she found herself relating to Edith the most. She found her love for ninjas and fighting to be both awesome and adorable.

"Aww, that sucks," Lucy said sadly, scootching over so the blonde could crawl up beside her. Once she did, she swiftly lowered her head and pulled a horribly saddened expression, as if she were very close to tears. "What about?"

"Uh...I was...I was back at the orphanage again," Edith explained, her voice quivering a little. "And I saw Miss Hattie and...and I gave her this mudpie and...and she said that...that I'll never get adopted and then...and then nobody ever came and I...I was all alone and...and..."

Lucy's heart was aching at the sight of her daughter's sorrow. Usually, when it came to dealing with tears, it was usually Agnes who was the one needing comforting. But right now, Edith looked in a very needy state, the total opposite to her usual demeanor.

As for her dream, it was certainly peculiar that they would experience very similar nightmares on the same night. However, in some ways, that was a positive. Not only did Lucy now know what to do to soothe her dejection, but Edith was also unintentionally helping her with her own lingering fear.

The fact that she had a daughter, three daughters, who she could care for and receive love from, contradicted her old doubts completely. When she was at the orphanage, fearing that nobody would ever care about her or that her whole life would be void of happiness, she never could've predicted how amazing the future would be.

She now had a whole family of people to care about her, and the more she thought about that, the more she cared for them in return. The love she felt towards her husband, her daughters, and even her brother-in-law was registering off the charts, and she had never felt so grateful for the life that she had been handed.

She may have never been adopted while at the orphanage, just like the owner and the bullies predicted, but the fact that she had these amazing people around her who loved her dearly, made all of that pain worth it.

"Hey, hey, shh shhh." Lucy hummed, her voice as soft as silk. She wrapped her warming arms around the middle-child, who rested her head against her mother's shoulder. "None of that was real, it was just a dream. I mean, look," Lucy nodded at her comotosed husband, who was lightly snoring. "You have been adopted. That horrible woman didn't have a clue what she was talking about."

Edith lifted her head and grinned joyfully, sniffling as the tears slowed down, before burying her head into Lucy's shoulder once again. Lucy closed her eyes and held her close, trying her best to absorb the last of her misery.

"I love you, mom." Edith whispered quietly. Nothing was going to stop the smile from permeating Lucy's expression.

"I love you too, sweetie." Lucy replied. "More than you could ever know."

It's short, but hopefully, you found it sweet.

Updates for this will probably be quite infrequent. Whenever I get a good Lucy story idea, I'll write it up and put it on here.

Thank you for reading. A review would be most appreciated.